Preview: Ajax vs. FC Utrecht - prediction, team news, lineups

The penultimate weekend of this Eredivisie season pits Ajax against FC Utrecht at the Johan Cruyff Arena, with the hosts’ campaign very much undecided.

While Utrecht are set to play in the post-season European playoffs, the Amsterdam giants could face the same fate as Sunday’s visitors, end up in the guaranteed Champions League spots, make do with the qualifying place for Europe’s top competition or need to qualify for the Europa League.

Match preview

Last week’s De Topper was tipped to be goal-laden, with very little separating Ajax and PSV Eindhoven, and so it proved as it ended 2-2 in Amsterdam, with Mika Godts — who else? — netting a 92nd-minute equaliser to extend De Joden’s unbeaten run against their rivals to five.

While that result preserved De Godenzonen’s unbeaten three-match sequence, interim boss Oscar Garcia will be aware of the permutations heading into the final two gameweeks of 2025-26.

Currently fourth in the table, Ajax are guaranteed a potential Europa League spot via the second qualifying round, but the Jews can still aim higher.

A place and one point below third-placed NEC, Garcia’s side must claim maximum points from their final two matches against Utrecht on Sunday and away at Heerenveen next weekend to have any chance of leapfrogging their Nijmegen rivals for a spot in the Champions League third qualifying round.

While there remains a slim chance of overtaking Feyenoord in second, the Amsterdam outfit need Robin van Persie’s troops to lose both games over the next two rounds, having not been beaten in seven consecutive gameweeks.

The final possibility, though, will not please fans of the 36-time Eredivisie champions: finishing lower than fourth could drop them into the European playoffs, where the winner may only get to compete in the Conference League after coming through the qualifying rounds.

Aiming to avoid that dreaded outcome, the hosts will hope to beat Utrecht this weekend to stave off competition from FC Twente, who are level with them on 55 points heading into the final two games of the season.

That outcome will require Ajax to get the better of this weekend’s opponents for the first time since 2024’s 2-0 success in Amsterdam.

Since that loss in March of that year, Utreg have avoided defeat in the following three meetings, securing wins on home soil, including a 4-0 hammering of De Joden last season, while drawing 2-2 in the corresponding fixture at the Johan Cruyff Arena in 2024-25.

It marked the first time since 2021 that Utrecht had avoided defeat to Ajax in Amsterdam, and they head into Sunday aware of the possibility of taking points off De Joden on consecutive visits, following a 1-1 draw and a 1-0 win in April and October 2021, respectively.

Nonetheless, the travelling supporters will exercise caution, given their last two league trips have resulted in a 4-3 defeat to Eredivisie champions PSV and a 5-0 hammering at relegation-threatened SBV Excelsior.

While that pounding was not helped by Matisse Didden’s sending-off at 1-0 down, the second-half collapse that followed was discouraging.

Indeed, with Ron Jans’s side virtually certain to finish no lower than ninth for a European playoff spot, unless they lose their final two matches and 10th-placed Groningen overturn a six-point gap, it will be interesting to see how motivated Utrecht are ahead of Sunday’s visit to Amsterdam.

Ajax Eredivisie form:

FC Utrecht Eredivisie form:

Team News

Godts’s 17th Eredivisie goal of the season earned Ajax a point against PSV in De Topper, and the club’s leading marksman and only player in the team to hit double figures this term aims to add to his impressive tally.

Oscar Gloukh and Wout Weghorst have been involved in 12 and 11 goals, respectively, highlighting the commendable supporting cast behind the highly rated Belgian attacker.

Garcia is likely to be without Owen Wijndal, Oleksandr Zinchenko (knee), Kian Fitz-Jim (shoulder), Vitezlav Jaros (knee) and Davy Klaassen (knee) for Sunday’s game.

Utrecht, meanwhile, have a surfeit of sidelined players: Miguel Rodriguez (knee), Emirhan Demircan (hamstring), Victor Jensen (knee), Jaygo van Ommeren (back), Oualid Agougil (knee) and Michael Brouwer (Achilles) are all on the treatment table.

Although Souffian El Karouani has not added to his 10 assists since February, the wide defender’s forward forays could hurt Ajax, while Gjivai Zechiel — eight goals, four assists — has enjoyed an admirable loan spell from Feyenoord.

Ajax possible starting lineup:

Paes; Gaaei, Sutalo, Baas, Rosa; Gloukh, Itakura, Mokio; Berghuis, Weghorst, Godts

FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:

Barkas; Vesterlund, Didden, Van der Hoorn, El Karouani; Engwanda, Zechiel; Alarcon, Karlsson, Cathline; Stepanov

We say: Ajax 3-2 FC Utrecht

With Godts in superb form, Ajax may have enough attacking quality to edge a tightly contested, high-scoring encounter at the Johan Cruyff Arena, especially with their need for maximum points likely to sharpen their focus.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.