Preview: Ajax vs. PSV Eindhoven - prediction, team news, lineups

Free-scoring Ajax and PSV Eindhoven tussle in the first De Topper of the Eredivisie season on matchday five, both aiming to maintain their unbeaten starts to the top-flight campaign.

Michel's men have not been hampered by the loss of Mika Godts to Paris Saint-Germain and Wout Weghorst to FC Twente, while the league's best side have recovered from losing the Johan Cruyff Shield and drawing their opening league match to showcase their attacking quality.

Match preview

One conclusion can be drawn from observing Michel's early days at the Johan Cruyff Arena: De Joden will mostly aim to outscore their opponents.

A rare clean sheet in last week's 4-0 hammering of Telstar ended the club's four-match run of conceding two or more goals across all competitions, even though they remained unbeaten throughout that period, drawing 2-2 with Shelbourne and Heerenveen and beating Sion 4-2 and 5-3 in the Conference League playoff round.

Indeed, the Jews head into Saturday's De Topper unbeaten in 13 matches overall, while they have not suffered a loss to their fierce rivals in five matches, having lost seven of the previous nine, including six consecutive defeats.

That miserable run was halted with a 1-1 draw at the Johan Cruyff Arena in February 2024, and Ajax have not looked back since, winning two and drawing 2-2 against Bosz's troops.

The most recent meeting in May saw De Godenzonen nearly lose their unbeaten streak, only for the now-departed Godts to score a 92nd-minute leveller, prolonging PSV's wait for a first success in this fixture since October 2023's 5-2 hammering.

Admittedly, Bosz will point to his side's dominance in the league as validation of his ultra-attacking methods, but fans will be eager to add bragging rights over this weekend's hosts to the list.

The Eindhoven giants are chasing a fourth consecutive league crown under their manager, but their hosts enter the campaign as one of the contenders to thwart their prospects.

That magnifies the away side's desire to secure maximum points at the Johan Cruyff Arena on Saturday to end Ajax's 14-match unbeaten run and open a six-point lead over the 36-time Eredivisie champions, albeit having played one more match than De Joden.

Nonetheless, creating separation this early in the season could be pivotal, especially given PSV's form after a slow start to the domestic season's curtain-raiser — they were beaten 4-0 by AZ Alkmaar — before drawing 2-2 at home against Fortuna Sittard on the opening day.

Bosz's side have, however, responded with wins over SBV Excelsior (2-1) as well as high-scoring 5-1 and 6-1 triumphs over Groningen and FC Utrecht, signalling that normal service is being resumed ahead of matchday five's visit to the capital, where they are winless since November 2022.

Ajax Eredivisie form:

Ajax form (all competitions):

PSV Eindhoven Eredivisie form:

PSV Eindhoven form (all competitions):

Team News

Daley Blind and Rayane Bounida are likely to be absent, while late-summer arrival Simon Adingra from Sunderland is struggling with a foot injury.

Sofyan Amrabat joined the Amsterdam giants close to the deadline, marking his return to the Eredivisie, but the midfielder is unlikely to play from the off this weekend.

Among the players expected to be decisive, Tolu Arokodare has effectively become the club's go-to forward, weeks after joining on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers, and the Nigerian aims to score for the fourth match running.

Julian Brandt and Steven Berguis also possess the required match-deciding quality, with the latter involved in three goals in last weekend's 4-0 success over Telstar.

For Bosz and PSV, the summer departures of Ismael Saibari and Joey Veerman have so far not hampered the defending champions, who enter Saturday's fixture already the top-scoring side in the Eredivisie.

They have surprisingly spread the goals, with a surfeit of players on two: Sergino Dest, Ivan Perisic, Ruben van Bommel, Guus Til and Ricardo Pepi, all heading into De Topper as the away side's joint leading goalscorers.

PSV will assess Van Bommel and Sam Lammers (knock), although Alassane Plea (unknown injury), Jerdy Schouten (ACL) and Sam Ouaissa (hamstring) are sidelined.

Ajax possible starting lineup:

Ter Stegen; Gaaei, Bouman, Baas, Henrique; Klaassen, Mokio, Brandt; Berghuis, Arokodare, Gloukh

PSV Eindhoven possible starting lineup:

Kovar; Dest, Flamingo, Obispo, Junior; Sano, Fernandez; Perisic, Til, Van Bommel; Pepi

We say: Ajax 3-3 PSV Eindhoven

It is incredibly hard to back PSV in this rivalry at present, especially given the recent precedent and Ajax's free-scoring start to the season under Michel.

Both sides effectively employ an all-or-nothing approach under their managers, which should translate into a high-scoring affair in Amsterdam, with the spoils shared.

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