Heracles become the latest team to try and halt Ajax's seemingly unstoppable charge to a 35th Eredivisie title when they host them on Saturday.
The home side have already witnessed how devastating the visitors can be in front of goal, having shipped five goals in the reverse fixture back in November.
Match preview
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Ajax were unable to extend their lead at the top of the Eredivisie table as their game against FC Utrecht was one of many games to be called off on Sunday due to bad weather.
Erik ten Hag's men are currently four points clear, but that gap could be down to one by kickoff on Saturday, depending on if PSV Eindhoven come out victorious in their clash against ADO Den Haag earlier in the day.
Elsewhere, de Godenzonen have secured a place in the semi-final of the KNVB-Beker, courtesy of a 2-1 victory over PSV on Wednesday.
No team in the league has had more joy on their travels this term than Ajax, who currently have the most wins and most points away from home.
In their 10 games away from the Johan Cruyff ArenA so far, only Willem II and Groningen have been able to stop them from leaving with all three points.
Heracles recorded their second win on the bounce in a 1-0 triumph away at Fortuna Sittard on Friday thanks to Rai Vloet's ninth goal of the campaign.
Frank Wormuth's men are unbeaten in each of their last four league games, picking up 10 points in that time and as a result, moving up to 10th in the Eredivisie table.
The visit of Ajax is usually a tough game for anyone, but the Heraclieden have not lost in their last three home games versus the league leaders, who last beat them on their own turf in 2016.
Heracles Eredivisie form: WLWDWW
Heracles form (all competitions): LLWDWW
Ajax Eredivisie form: DWWWWW
Ajax form (all competitions): WWWWWW
Team News
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Sebastien Haller has continued to impress for Ajax since his move from West Ham in the January transfer window, and his double against PSV in the cup takes him up to four goals, in keeping with the four assists he has supplied in his first nine games.
Nicolas Tagliafico and Noussair Mazraoui both featured in midweek which signals that they are now fit to play again following their recent injury layoffs.
Mohammed Kudus was fit enough for the bench last time out, but he still needs a couple of games off to get up to speed after missing the last month of action.
Heracles are still without Navajo Bakboord, who remains sidelined with a muscle injury as he has been since the beginning of the season.
Kasper Lunding is also a doubt for this one as he continues to nurse a muscle tear that he sustained against Utrecht a fortnight ago.
Heracles possible starting lineup:
Blaswich; Quagliata, Propper, Rente, Breukers; Schoofs, Azzaoui, De La Torre; Van De Water, Vloet, Burgzorg
Ajax possible starting lineup:
Stekelenburg; Blind, Martinez, Schuurs, Rensch; Gravenberch, Promes, Klaassen; Tadic, Haller, Antony
We say: Heracles 1-3 Ajax
Ajax simply look far too good for anyone at the moment, and despite improved performances from the hosts in recent weeks, we cannot see any other outcome than an away victory.
Top betting 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 66.69%. A draw had a probability of 18.3% and a win for Heracles had a probability of 15.01%.
The most likely scoreline for an Ajax win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.71%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (9.54%) and 0-1 (8.18%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.33%), while for a Heracles win it was 2-1 (4.24%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 9.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Ajax would win this match.
