LIVERPOOL'S season is unravelling at alarming speed and they head into this Champions League clash with Ajax in desperate need of a victory.
Jurgen Klopp's side have lacked their usual vibrancy in the opening weeks of the Premier League season, winning just two of their first six games.
But the full extent of their troubles was laid bare by Napoli on Matchday One in the Champions League, with the Serie A side romping to a 4-1 victory in Italy.
I thought the bookies had overpriced Napoli for that game and cashed in by going for goals, with the Anfield giants lucky to escape an even heavier defeat.
They've had a long time to stew over that defeat, with weekend fixtures cancelled in the UK after the death of the Queen, and will be desperate to bounce back when Ajax come calling.
But Liverpool won't get it easy against the Dutch champions, who looked impressive as they crushed Rangers 4-0 in their Group A opener.
Steven Bergwijn brought up a scorer bet for our man Mark by slotting home the fourth that night but injured himself in the process and looked to be doubt for the trip to Anfield.
But he started again on Saturday as Ajax cruised to a 5-0 home win over Heerenveen, making it seven victories on the spin since their 5-3 loss to PSV in the Dutch version of the Community Shield.
How the bookies view it
Despite their dismal form this season, Liverpool are still odds-on favourites for this one at a best 5/9 with VBet, which is probably down to the Anfield factor. Ajax are as big as 47/10 with SBK, which looks overpriced, while the draw pays 4/1 at the same firm.
Head to head
These clubs are giants of European football so it's a surprise they've only faced off four times, with Liverpool edging the head to head. The Reds claimed 1-0 victories home and away in the Champions League group just two seasons ago. That helped to avenge a heavy defeat in the European Cup back in 1966, with Ajax winning 5-1 in Amsterdam before a 2-2 draw back at Anfield.
Players to watch
Luis Diaz is the only Liverpool forward who has been in decent form this season and he netted their consolation goal in Naples. The Colombian winger is 6/4 at Bet365 for another strike here.
Mohammed Kudus bamboozled the Rangers defence with his trickery and smashed home a cracking finish to put the cherry on the cake. He also netted a double at the weekend so looks overpriced for an Anfield goal at 19/5 with Betfred. Unibet price him at evens just have to shot on target and that looks great value.
Anything else catch the eye?
This should be a thriller as Liverpool will go full-pelt for a much-needed win, giving Ajax the space to hit on the counter. Both teams to score is a tiny 11/21 at SBK and even over 3.5 goals pays just 49/50 at Unibet.
Those odds are poor so I'm going to repeat the bet that paid off for me in Naples and go for over 1.5 first-half goals at 11/10 with SportNation. Bet365 also price a goal inside the first 10 minutes at 5/2 and that might be worth a punt.
Liverpool conceded 13 fouls on Matchday One and will be steaming into tackles again as they bid to dominate Ajax. That makes the 23/20 on offer at Unibet for over 11.5 Reds fouls worth a look.
This UEFA Champions League match between Liverpool and Ajax will be played on Sep 13, 2022 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Liverpool vs Ajax prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
