Ajax vs Brighton prediction, odds, betting tips and best bets for Europa League group-stage match

Ajax and Brighton & Hove Albion went almost 125 years of their existences without facing each other before last month. Now, they will play each other for the second time in two weeks when the Dutch giants seek revenge on Thursday for their 2-0 defeat at the Amex Stadium.

In their first ever European campaign, the night was another piece of history for Albion, as strikes by Joao Pedro and Ansu Fati gave them a first victory in European competition against a club they could once only have dreamed of playing.

The result has made it all the more imperative for the struggling Amsterdammers to secure a first win of the group stage at the fourth attempt.

Former Ajax winger John van 't Schip was appointed interim manager for a second time on October 30 — this time until the end of the season — and has the job of trying to revive the 36-time Eredivisie champions following a remarkably poor start to the season that left them bottom of their Europa League group and in the relegation zone domestically.

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Ajax have made a good start to their new manager’s tenure, winning at home twice in four days by beating Volendam 2-0 and Heerenveen 4-1 to surge out of the bottom three and almost into the top half of the Eredivise table.

Entertaining Brighton made another bright start to their Premier League schedule in flamboyant manager Roberto De Zerbi's first full season in charge, but their players would have felt some relief at avoiding a second successive surprise setback at home in the Europa League after an opening defeat to AEK Athens.

The good news for Ajax and Brighton is that the gap between the top and bottom of Group B is a mere three points ahead of