FC Utrecht welcome Ajax to the Stadion Galgenwaard on Sunday aiming to end a run of five matches across all competitions without a victory.
On the other hand, the visitors make the trip this weekend in search of a fourth consecutive victory across all competitions.
Match preview
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Ajax capped off 2021 with a 5-0 demolition of Fortuna Sittard at the Johan Cruyff ArenA on December 21.
Goals from Daley Blind, Antony and Devyne Rensch put Erik ten Hag's men in cruise control before Sebastien Haller put the icing on the cake with a late double.
De Joden remain second in the Eredivisie table, a point behind leaders PSV Eindhoven with just under half of the season left to play.
Standing in their way next is an opposing side who have won just one of the last five meetings between the teams, which was a 1-0 victory in October's reverse fixture.
Off the back of five away wins on the trot, Sunday's visitors will back themselves to come away with all three points and kick off the new year on a high.
Utrecht had to make do with a point for the third league game running following a 1-1 draw against FC Twente on December 22.
Rene Hake's men trailed for the majority of the contest courtesy of Ricky van Wolfswinkel's opener before salvaging a point in the final knockings through Mimoun Mahi.
The Domstedelingen are seventh in the standings with a slender one-point advantage over the chasing park in the race for continental qualification.
Currently with the second-best goal difference in home games, Sunday's hosts are by no means pushovers and will be keen to give the defending champions a run for their money.
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Team News
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Andre Onana and top scorer Sebastien Haller will not be available for Ajax, as they are away on international duty at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations.
Noussair Mazraoui has missed the last four games due to a muscle injury, and he is joined on the sidelines by Sean Klaiber, who continues to nurse a knee problem.
David Neres is also not expected to be included in the matchday squad as he prepares to finalize a winter move to Shakhtar Donetsk.
Utrecht's Christopher Mamengi and Reda Akmum are down with knee injuries and still await their first outing of the season.
Maarten Paes was on fire in the reverse fixture where he made a host of saves to preserve his side's lead, and the 23-year-old will be bracing himself for another busy day at the office this weekend.
FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:
Paes; Zagre, Q. Timber, Van der Maarel, Van der Hoorn; Van Overeem, Maher, Ramselaar; Gustafson, Douvikas, Mahi
Ajax possible starting lineup:
Pasveer; Blind, Schuurs, J. Timber, Rensch; Gravenberch, Klaassen, Berghuis; Tadic, Antony, Danilo
We say: FC Utrecht 1-3 Ajax
With a chance to reclaim top spot albeit temporarily, Ajax will be fired up for the clash, and we are tipping them to come away with all three points at the end of the 90 minutes.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Ajax win with a probability of 66.91%. A draw had a probability of 18.5% and a win for FC Utrecht had a probability of 14.56%.
The most likely scoreline for an Ajax win was 0-2 with a probability of 10.13%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.78%) and 0-1 (8.9%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.58%), while for a FC Utrecht win it was 2-1 (4.14%). The actual scoreline of 0-3 was predicted with a 7.7% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Ajax would win this match.
