Defending champions Ajax welcome Fortuna Sittard to the Johan Cruyff ArenA on Wednesday aiming to kick off the second half of the 2021-22 Eredivisie season on a high.
On the other hand, the visitors make the journey to Amsterdam looking to make it back-to-back league victories away from home for the first time this term.
Match preview
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Off the back of a 2-1 defeat to AZ Alkmaar, Ajax returned to winning ways in the league with a 2-0 triumph over Feyenoord on Sunday.
Erik ten Hag's men took the lead on the stroke of half time courtesy of Marcos Senesi's own goal before Dusan Tadic sealed the deal from the penalty spot nine minutes from time.
De Godenzonen have now established a three-point lead over their last opponents but remain a point adrift of PSV Eindhoven at the top of the standings.
Lying in store next for them is a clash versus an opposing side who have lost each of the last six meetings between the teams and are without a victory in this fixture since 2000.
Currently averaging over three goals per game on home turf, Wednesday's hosts will fancy themselves to secure another emphatic victory in this one.
Fortuna Sittard secured a hard-fought point over the weekend courtesy of a 2-2 draw versus FC Utrecht on Saturday.
Sjors Ultee's men went behind on two occasions but hit back both times through goals from George Cox and Zian Flemming.
The Fortunezen have now picked up four of the last six points available and are 16th in the Eredivisie table as things stand, two points from safety.
Having conceded a league-high 41 goals, Wednesday's visitors are set for a stern test against the league's fiercest attack.
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Team News
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Sean Klaiber is still yet to recover from a knee injury, and the 27-year-old will not be available for the defending champions on Wednesday.
Ajax will also take to the field without the services of Maarten Stekelenburg and Noussair Mazraoui, who are sidelined with hip and muscle injuries respectively.
Ghanaian midfielder Mohammed Kudus is set to sit out a ninth consecutive game due to a rib injury which he picked up while on international duty.
Zian Flemming has directly contributed to six of his side's last 10 goals and is one to keep an eye on.
Following his recent return from injury, Lisandro Semedo will be pushing for a start here but we expect him to be limited to another cameo appearance.
Ajax possible starting lineup:
Pasveer; Mazraoui, Timber, Martinez, Blind; Alvarez, Gravenberch, Berghuis; Antony, Tadic, Haller
Fortuna Sittard possible starting lineup:
Van Osch; Cox, Tirpan, Samaris, Lonwijk, Janssen; Tekie, Duarte, Rienstra; Seuntjens, Flemming
We say: Ajax 4-0 Fortuna Sittard
Ajax were back to their best in the victory over Feyenoord last time out and will head into this one full of confidence. We are backing them to cruise to victory come the full-time whistle, scoring plenty of goals en route.
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 95.83%. A draw had a probability of 3.2% and a win for Fortuna Sittard had a probability of 0.97%.
The most likely scoreline for an Ajax win was 4-0 with a probability of 12.32%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 3-0 (11.04%) and 5-0 (11%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (1.5%), while for a Fortuna Sittard win it was 1-2 (0.34%). The actual scoreline of 5-0 was predicted with an 11% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Ajax would win this match.
