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Fenerbahce's coach under pressure, Ajax won't focus on defense only

Fenerbahce have only one point from the first round and need to beat Ajax today ahead of the greatest Turkish derby match against Galatasaray, which is set to take place this weekend. Ajax believe the home team is vulnerable and have no plans of focusing on defense

Fenerbahce and Ajax were the favorites of Group B, at least on paper, but the Turkish side has only a point after two rounds, while the Dutch side has two. Luckily for them, Molde and Celtic aren't exactly good enough to able to record nothing but wins until the end of group stage, but the head-to-head matches could definitely decide whether Fenerbahce and Ajax will advance to the next stage. 

Fenerbahce were particularly disappointed with the defeat to Molde home. They are now facing Ajax in the trickiest of moments, with the greatest Turkish derby match against Galatasaray just around the corner. 

Not thinking about that game is almost impossible in Turkey because of the massive pressure by the media and the fans. Another potential slip just before the derby match would ruin the atmosphere on the team, which is why Fenerbahce will try their absolute best to beat Ajax home today.

- We acquired quite a lot of players this summer. It's always difficult to build a new team. We needed time and that time is now up. We have to leave everything that was bad behind and open a new page with only one goal - winning. Ajax are first up - Fenerbahce's midfielder Topal said, pinpointing coach Pereira's greatest problem - the cohesion on the team that doesn't always seem like a team. That is exactly why the results aren't in accordance with the expectations. 

- Our goal remains the same. Each next match can see us do brilliantly. We are not yet a well-organized and powerful team but we will be soon. There is no doubt we want to play the Europa League as long as we can - coach Perreira said. Forward Nani and defender Alves won't be on the team today, midfielder Meirelse and winger Sen are questionable. 

- We want to display as active and as aggressive game as possible today. We need to win in order to increase our chances of reaching the next stage and to get the team into a better mood ahead of the Galatasaray match - Periera said. If he loses both of the following two matches, he will most definitely get sacked.

Ajax expected good results in Europa League after the Champions League knock-out. Their first two games, however, weren't good at all. The only good thing is the fact they managed to make a comeback in both games to record a point in the end. Still, Ajax's performance was far from the expected level. The Dutch side is doing much better in the domestic championship. They still sit top table but the recent defeat to PSV saw Feyenoord get very close.

Ajax are constantly introducing new and younger players on the team, which is not good for their ambition. But Frank de Boer is a very persistent coach who is slowly building a new and talented generation. Ajax's current strength will be put to a tough test in Istanbul, with the home team doing their best to win. 

- We'll get ourselves in a very tough situation if we lose this game. That is why we need at least a point. Fenerbahce have a number of good-quality players but they still don't function as a team. That is where is see our chance - De Boer said. The most important thing is Cillessen recovering from an injury. De Boer can, however, still not count on center forward Milik, Sanogo and Serero, who could help the team today a lot. 

- I expect a crazy atmosphere because Fenerbahce's fans are crazy about their team. My players like that kind of atmosphere. It gives them extra motivation. We'll start with the best squad we have at the moment. I expect both teams to attack because a win would mean so much to both of us - De Boer said. His team will play in the 4-3-3 lineup with mostly offense-oriented midfielders, which means Ajax didn't come to Istanbul to focus on defense. 

The circumstances surrounding this game call for this tip. The results from the first two rounds suggest there should be no holding back on either team. The Turks are a traditionally aggressive team that has a 9/1/3 record at 4 yellow cards margin. They are 4/2 in European games (4 overs). They played 9 European games home this season and have a 6/2/1 record. It's therefore clear that the situation is not 50-50 on their end as it seems. Things are a bit complicated at Ajax since they have a 6/1/9 record this season but some of those need extra clarification. They are 3/3 in Europe but I want to talk about their away games. Ajax are 4/1/3 away, but they won 3 out of four games in which the bets weren't successful in the domestic championship. They are 7/1/5 in European away games since 2003. The six game in which there were no cards were two against Barcelona and one again PSG. When i take everything into consideration it can be concluded that if Ajax don't contribute to this bet much it means they are also not hurting it. Last but not least, the Spanish ref Borbalan is to officiate this game. It is known that the Spanish refs might have the shortest fuse when it comes to giving cards and Borbalan is no exception. His record is 39/7/13 in the last 49 games. Some of the 13 are friendly matches or the Spanish league matches where for example, Barcelona beat someone by 5-6 goals. He has 10 overs in 12 European games since 2013. The only two unders were in games with 5-1 and 0-5 final scores.