Injury-hit Besiktas to take on in-form Ajax in UCL group match

Istanbul football club to play without stars like Miralem Pjanic, Domagoj Vida, Rachid Ghezzal in Amsterdam

By Emre Asikci

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish football team Besiktas will play against Dutch side Ajax on Tuesday in the second group match of the UEFA Champions League.

The Group C match will kick off at Amsterdam's Johan Cruyff Arena at 2245GMT, while Benoit Bastien of France will referee the game.

The Istanbul club will be playing without some of its key players.

Domagoj Vida, Welinton, Atiba Hutchinson, Georges-Kevin N'Koudou, Rachid Ghezzal, Mehmet Topal, Miralem Pjanic, and Cyle Larin will not fight for the Black Eagles due to their injuries.

Spanish defender Francisco Montero also will be absent from the pitch as he tested positive for COVID-19.

Besiktas are in the third spot with 14 points in the Turkish Super Lig.

For the Dutch side, Sean Klaiber and Maarten Stekelenburg will be out of the game because of their injuries.

On Saturday, the Amsterdam-based club beat Groningen at home with a 3-0 score to lead Dutch Eredivisie. Ajax scored 30 goals and conceded one, currently standing at 19 points.

In the first group games, Besiktas lost versus Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in Istanbul, while Ajax tasted a 5-1 away victory over Sporting CP in Lisbon.

- Matchday 2 Fixture:

Tuesday

Group A:

Paris Saint-Germain - Manchester City

Leipzig - Club Brugge KV

Group B:

Porto - Liverpool

Milan- Atletico Madrid

Group C:

Ajax - Besiktas

Borussia Dortmund - Sporting CP