The standout fixture on matchday 22 in the Eredivisie will come from the Johan Cruijff ArenA where Ajax will be playing host to Feyenoord on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts will keep the pressure firmly on PSV at the top of the table with three points in this match, while the visitors need a victory to keep pace with the chasing pack.
Match preview
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Ajax will come into this weekend's league fixtures in high spirits following a solid 2-1 home win over Turkish giants Galatasaray on the final matchday of the League Phase in the Europa League on Thursday night.
While de Godenzonen were unable to crack a top-eight finish in the group stage, they did get 12th place and advanced to the knockout phase playoff round, where they will face Union Saint-Gilloise in mid-February.
Francesco Farioli's side will now return to the domestic league competition, where they are riding a four-match win streak dating back to mid-December when they beat relegation candidates Almere City at home.
Indeed, the hosts have been almost flawless at the Johan Cruijff ArenA this term, having won eight of their nine league games at the venue, with the only minor blemish being a 2-2 draw against Utrecht early in December.
Ajax won the reverse fixture between these sides 2-0 at Stadion Feijenoord in October last year, which brought an end to a four-match winless run in league games against this opponent that extended back to March 2022.
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Meanwhile, Feyenoord's League Phase in the Champions League came to an abrupt end, with Lille handing them a crushing 6-1 defeat at the Decathlon Arena - Stade Pierre-Mauroy in midweek.
Had they beaten the Ligue 1 outfit, Feyenoord would have been in contention for direct entry into the round of 16, instead, they finished in 19th place and will have to navigate a playoff round tie against AC Milan.
In league terms, De club aan de Maas have not been in great shape either lately, currently winless in their last three, including back-to-back defeats to PSV and Utrecht before being held to a 1-1 draw by Willem in their last outing.
As a result, the visitors have fallen 13 points behind the current league leaders, while Twente and AZ Alkmaar in fifth and sixth place respectively are within striking distance, just two points behind them.
Notably, though, Feyenoord have been marginally better on the road than on their home patch this season, earning 19 of their 36-point tally on their travels, while only tasting defeat once to date (W5 D4 L1).
Team News
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Kenneth Taylor has been enjoying an impressive run of form in recent weeks, scoring in three of his last four league starts, and he will likely be joined by Jordan Henderson and Kian Fitz-Jim in the hosts' engine room this weekend.
Ajax have three players currently ruled out due to injury, including Amourricho Van Axel-Dongen, Owen Wijndal and Gaston Avila, all of whom are expected to remain sidelined for the foreseeable future.
Feyenoord, on the other hand, have been dealt a few significant injury blows in the last couple of weeks, with the most recent being that of Justin Bijlow, who was forced off in the defeat to Lille in midweek after falling awkwardly coming out to collect a cross.
Chris-Kevin Nadje and Calvin Stengs sat out the trip to France with knocks and will join longer-term absentees Jordan Lotomba, Quinten Timber and Ramiz Zerrouki in a watching brief this weekend as well.
Ajax possible starting lineup:
Pasveer; Gaaei, Sutalo, Baas, Hato; Fitz-Jim, Henderson, Taylor; Godts, Weghorst, Traore
Feyenoord possible starting lineup:
Wellenreuther; Nieuwkoop, Trauner, Hancko, Smal; Milambo, Beelen, Hwang; Moussa, Ueda, Paixao
We say: Ajax 2-1 Feyenoord
Feyenoord have not been at their best this season, and now return to the domestic league where they are winless in their last three games. In contrast, Ajax are riding a four-match win streak in the Eredivisie and have not lost a home game since November 2023.
The visitors should get on the scoresheet, but we feel the hosts will come out on top in this contest.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
