A year ago, Felix Götze transferred from Rot-Weiss Essen to SC Paderborn. He immediately became an important player there. And now he is taking the next step.
He had no problems adjusting Ajax-Celtic prediction: they impressed in their last two friendlies
Ajax and Celtic are participating in the Como Cup, a sort of four-team tournament – the other two teams taking part are the hosts Como and Al-Ahli – which is being held this week in the city on Lake Como and features two semi-finals, the third-place play-off and the final. The Lancers come into the match against the Scots with quite a few minutes under their belts: they have already played four friendlies, recording one draw and three wins. In their last two tests, they beat PAOK and Mechelen 2-1 and 3-2 respectively.
In short, Johnny Heitinga’s adventure seems to have started on the right foot: the former Dutch defender, who grew up at Ajax and played for the red and white from 2001 to 2008, has taken the place of Italian Francesco Farioli, who remained on the Amsterdam club’s bench for only one season. The reason for the split was the dramatic collapse in the last five games of last season’s Eredivisie, in which Ajax squandered a huge lead over PSV Eindhoven, allowing them to catch up by nine points and seeing a title that was practically already won slip away. Celtic, on the other hand, added yet another title to their trophy cabinet, finishing 17 points ahead of rivals Rangers. This year, the Hoops are aiming for their fifth consecutive Scottish Premiership triumph, where they have had no credible rivals for some seasons now: so far in preseason, Brendan Rodgers’ men have shone, winning four out of five games – notably against Sporting and Newcastle – a record marred only by defeat to Portuguese side Estrela Amadora.
Odds comparison
The “Over 2.5” bet is priced at 1.67 on Goldbet and Lottomatica and at 1.65 on Snai.
- GOLDBET – Up to €3050 for sports and casino with 200% on your first sports deposit up to €1000 MORE INFO
- SNAI – €15 free + 50% on your first deposit up to €30 MORE INFO
- LOTTOMATICA – Up to €3050 on sports and casino with 200% on your first sports deposit up to €1000 MORE INFO
The prediction
Celtic impressed in their friendlies against Sporting and Newcastle (0-2 and 4-0) and should be able to avoid defeat against Ajax as well: at least three goals are expected, as in the last previous matches, dating back to 2015, when the two teams faced each other in the Europa League group stage (2-2 and 1-2 for the Lancers).
Probable line-ups for Ajax-Celtic
AJAX (4-3-3): Jaros; Regeer, Bouwman, Baas, Wijndal; Berghuis, Mokio, Klaassen; Traoré, Weghorst, Raul Moro.
CELTIC (4-3-3): Schmeichel; Ralston, Trusty, Scales, Tierney; McCowan, McGregor, Engels; Forrest, Hyun-Jun Yang, Maeda. POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-2 No one noticed when Felix Götze moved from Rot-Weiss Essen to SC Paderborn last summer. The 27-year-old center back immediately established himself as a regular at the second division club and missed only three games during the season. Now Götze is taking the next step: new coach Ralf Kettemann has named the defensive specialist captain—a great honor for the Dortmund native. He replaces Raphael Obermair, who will now serve as deputy captain. The second deputy captain is David Kinsombi. Laurin Curda and Sebastian Klaas complete the Paderborn team council for the new season.
“This puts us in a very good position. We have strong personalities as captains and on the team council who lead the way both on and off the pitch,” Kettemann explained in a statement released by SCP. Paderborn kicks off the new season in just under a week (August 2, 1 p.m.) against Bundesliga relegation side Holstein Kiel.
From 2022, the brother of World Cup final goal scorer Mario Götze was under contract with RWE for two years – initially on loan before signing a permanent deal. Götze came from FC Augsburg at the time and wanted to give his career a new boost in the third division. The plan worked. In two years, Götze played 57 games (four goals). He flourished especially in his second season, when then-coach Christoph Dabrowski moved him from central midfield to central defense.
After Bergeborbecker dropped out of the promotion race shortly before the end of the season, Götze followed the call of second division club Paderborn. “I’m really excited to play soccer here,” Götze explained in an interview with Transfermarkt.de in the spring. “I’m completely happy and can’t imagine anything better than being here right now.”
This is clearly mutual, as his appointment as captain underscores.