Aiming to move to the top of the Eredivisie table, Ajax will travel to the Offermans Joosten Stadion on Sunday to take on Fortuna Sittard.
The visitors have climbed within two points of the summit with a five-match winning streak, while holding a game in hand on leaders PSV Eindhoven.
Match preview
© Imago
Fortuna Sittard head into the weekend aiming to arrest a tough run of form in the Eredivisie, having gone winless in their last four outings.
Following a 10th-placed finish last time around, Fortunezen enjoyed a strong first half to the campaign, moving onto 25 points from 17 outings with back-to-back wins in December, making it seven victories for the season.
They have since added just one more point to that tally in four further attempts, though, with their three league games in January ending in a 3-0 loss to Go Ahead Eagles and a pair of 4-1 beatings at the hands of NEC and PEC Zwolle.
A trip to 10th-placed Heerenveen then followed last Saturday, and despite going behind twice they were able to end the losing run in a 2-2 draw, as Kristoffer Peterson levelled the scores early on and Rodrigo Guth forced a share of the spoils in injury time.
Hoping to take a degree of renewed confidence from that late leveller last time out, and still sitting eighth in the Dutch top flight, albeit trailing the top seven by six points, Fortuna Sittard will look to end their four-match wait for an eighth Eredivisie win of the campaign on Sunday.
© Imago
They face a tough test, though, with the visitors rapidly gaining momentum in their bid to regain the league title this term.
Following a fifth-placed finish last term, extending a wait for a 37th Eredivisie trophy, having last prevailed in 2022, Ajax have returned to contention in impressive fashion under the management of Francesco Farioli, currently sitting second having amassed 48 points from their 20 outings.
That has largely been built on a strong defensive record, with no other side in the Dutch top flight having conceded as few as their 18 goals at this stage, while de Godenzonen have won five league games on the bounce to move within touching distance of top spot.
After seeing off Almere City, Sparta Rotterdam, RKC Waalwijk and Heerenveen and booking a seeded Europa League playoff round spot with a 2-1 win over Galatasaray, the Amsterdam giants most recently hosted Feyenoord on Sunday and snatched all three points in a 2-1 victory, as Kenneth Taylor netted a 94th-minute winner after Brian Brobbey's opener was cancelled out.
Now trailing leaders and defending champions PSV Eindhoven by just two points with a game in hand, Ajax will aim to make it six straight victories on Sunday and further boost their title bid.
Team News
© Imago
Fortuna Sittard will remain without first-choice goalkeeper Mattijs Branderhorst, midfielder Samuel Bastien and attackers Onur Demir and Kaj Sierhuis at the weekend due to ongoing injuries.
In the absence of Branderhorst, Luuk Koopmans will continue between the sticks, while Rodrigo Guth and Shawn Adewoye will again partner up in the middle of the defence.
Feyenoord loanee Ezequiel Bullaude, who leads the squad with seven goals this season, should return to the attack from the outset, with Kristoffer Peterson continuing on the wing after netting his sixth of the campaign in last week's win, while Bojan Radulovic will hope to displace Alessio Da Cruz and earn a debut up front after arriving on loan from Huddersfield Town.
Ajax should field a similar starting XI from last week's win over Feyenoord, although defender Jorrel Hato will miss out through suspension, while Owen Wijndal and Mika Godts remain sidelined by injuries.
Daniele Rugani will likely come into the back four in Hato's absence, while Davy Klaassen and Jordan Henderson will again join top scorer Kenneth Taylor, who moved onto 10 goals for the season with Sunday's winner, in the midfield.
Following the loan departure of Chuba Akpom, Brian Brobbey, who also got on the scoresheet last time out, will again lead the line despite new competition from Oliver Edvardsen who has notched up eight league goals this term for Go Ahead Eagles, while Bertrand Traore is a danger man on the wing having netted nine goals of his own and contributed five assists so far this season.
Fortuna Sittard possible starting lineup:
Koopmans; Pinto, Adewoye, Guth, Dahlhaus; Van Ottele, Fosso; Michut, Bullaude, Peterson; Da Cruz
Ajax possible starting lineup:
Pasveer; Gaaei, Rugani, Sutalo, Baas; Klaassen, Henderson, Taylor; Traore, Brobbey, Berghuis
We say: Fortuna Sittard 0-2 Ajax
With the visitors quickly gaining momentum in their title pursuit and the hosts struggling for form in mid-table, we back Ajax to make their quality count on Sunday and record a sixth straight Eredivisie victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
