In the early stages of their title defence, Feyenoord will look to strengthen their position at the top end of the Eredivisie table on Sunday, when they travel to take on rivals Ajax in De Klassieker.
The visitors have made an unbeaten start to the league campaign, while their hosts have not yet found their form in their bid to regain the title.
Match preview
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After winning three consecutive Eredivisie titles and only being denied a fourth by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic which brought an end to the 2019-20 season, Ajax set out to continue their spell of dominance in the Dutch top flight last time around, but they failed to retain the trophy, instead finishing third with De Klassieker rivals Feyenoord taking top spot with a 13-point over them.
Turning their focus to the new campaign on the back of that disappointment, De Godenzonen opted to change management, appointing Maurice Steijn and tasking his with regaining the Eredivisie title this season, although it has been another relatively slow start as they currently sit 12th with just five points on the board from their opening four outings.
The Amsterdam giants did kick off on the front foot with a 4-1 beating of Heracles in their curtain-raiser, thanks to goals from Jakov Medic and Mohammed Kudus and a late Steven Bergwijn brace, only to play out disappointing draws with Excelsior and Fortuna Sittard, either side of a two-legged Europa League playoff triumph over Ludogorets Razgrad to reach the group stage.
De Godenzonen would then suffer a first league defeat of the term in their latest top-flight outing last Sunday, having travelled to FC Twente and been beaten 3-1, and they now head into Sunday's crucial contest on the back of an eventful first Europa League group game, as they hosted Marseille and eventually drew 3-3, having initially led 2-0 through Carlos Forbs and Steven Berghuis and 3-2 thanks to Kenneth Taylor's goal early in the second half, only to be pegged back by a Jonathan Clauss goal and a brace from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for the French visitors.
Now turning their focus back to the Eredivisie, with the aim of establishing themselves in the leading pack after the slow start, Steijn's men will look to send out a statement and build confidence by defeating the defending champions in De Klassieker on home turf.
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That will be no easy task, though, as Feyenoord have kicked off their title defence with an unbeaten run in the early stages of the new campaign, after winning the Eredivisie for the first time since 2017 last time around.
De Stadionclub have not yet topped the league, as they did have to settle for draws with Fortuna Sittard and Sparta Rotterdam, but they have since kept within touching distance of the early leaders with three consecutive resounding victories, scoring 17 goals across meetings with Almere City, FC Utrecht and Heerenveen.
That started with a 6-1 beating of the former, with Santiago Gimenez netting a brace alongside goals from Igor Paixao, Lutsharel Geertruida, Mats Wieffer and Quinten Timber, before Arne Slot's men came out 5-1 winners from a trip to Utrecht, as Gimenez hit another double and Calvin Stengs, Ayase Ueda and Yankuba Minteh added their names to the scoresheet.
Heerenveen were the latest side to stand in their way in the Eredivisie last weekend, and the Rotterdam outfit dished out another 6-1 beating on home turf, with Wieffer, Paixao, Gimenez and Minteh again among the goals alongside Luka Ivanusec and Ondrej Lingr, and De Stadionclub now head into their sixth league outing on the back of a dream start to their Champions League group campaign, having hosted Celtic and comfortably won 2-0 thanks to Stengs's opener on the stroke of half time and Alireza Jahanbakhsh's goal 14 minutes from time.
Now bound to be full of confidence having won four games in a row in dominant fashion, Feyenoord will look to overcome a major obstacle in their bid to take top spot again this season in Sunday's away De Klassieker.
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Team News
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With a clean bill of health, aside from the ongoing absences of goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli and defender Ahmetcan Kaplan, Ajax should again line up in a 4-2-3-1 shape on Sunday, potentially with an unchanged front three from Thursday of Steven Bergwijn, Brian Brobbey and Carlos Forbs, who netted his first goal for the club in their 3-3 draw with Marseille following a summer switch from Manchester City.
They certainly face competition, though, with fellow new arrivals Chuba Akpom and Georges Mikautadze both fighting to come in from the outset, while Steven Berghuis is bound to start in the middle of a supporting trio behind whichever lone striker is preferred.
Behind them, Kenneth Taylor should again start in the engine room alongside either Benjamin Tahirovic, Sivert Mannsverk or Branco van den Boomen, while Josip Sutalo and Jorrel Hato are bound to again partner up in the middle of the defence, with Devyne Rensch and Borna Sosa likely completing the back four.
Feyenoord are dealing with several ongoing injury issues, as goalkeeper Justin Bijlow remains sidelined alongside Bart Nieuwkoop and Ayase Ueda, while winger Luka Ivanusec was forced off in their victory over Celtic and is unexpected to be deemed fit to feature at the weekend.
Aside from Ivanusec's expected absence, Slot will likely deploy a very similar starting XI from their 6-1 thrashing of FC Utrecht, with Santiago Gimenez bound to return and lead the line, having already netted six goals in just five Eredivisie appearances so far this term, and he should have support from the trio of Yankuba Minteh, Calvin Stengs and Igor Paixao, although Ondrej Lingr and Alireza Jahanbakhsh are also fighting for spots in the front line.
Behind them, Mats Wieffer and Quinten Timber are mainstays in midfield and should again partner up in the centre on Sunday, while Gernot Trauner and David Hancko will keep their places at the heart of the defence.
Ajax possible starting lineup:
Gorter; Rensch, Sutalo, Hato, Sosa; Tahirovic, Taylor; Forbs, Berghuis, Bergwijn; Brobbey
Feyenoord possible starting lineup:
Wellenreuther; Geertruida, Trauner, Hancko, Hartman; Wieffer, Timber; Paixao, Stengs, Minteh; Gimenez
We say: Ajax 1-2 Feyenoord
The tides appear to be shifting in the Eredivisie, particularly after the visitors' clear league win last time around and their far stronger start to the new term, and we fancy Feyenoord to come out on top against their rivals in Amsterdam on Sunday.
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