Preview: Ajax vs FC Volendam - prediction, team news, lineups

AFC Ajax welcome FC Volendam to the Johan Cruijff Arena on Saturday in the Eredivisie as they look to maintain pace with Feyenoord and the chasing pack in the battle for a Champions League place.

The record champions will aim to extend their unbeaten run against this weekend’s visitors, while the Eel Farmers are less concerned by their historical record against Ajax and more focused on collecting points that could move them further clear of the relegation zone.

Match preview

Ajax bounced back from a difficult week in emphatic fashion on Tuesday night by claiming a hard-fought 2–1 victory away to Villarreal in the Champions League, as goals from Oscar Gloukh and Oliver Edvardsen sealed a vital win for the Amsterdam side in Spain and kept their qualification hopes alive heading into the final matchday of the group phase.

Gloukh’s opener was particularly notable as it marked the first time an Ajax player has scored directly from a free kick in all competitions since Mohammed Kudus achieved the feat against Sparta Rotterdam in the Eredivisie on February 19, 2023, ending a drought that had lasted 1,066 days.

The European success followed a turbulent domestic spell for De Godenzonen, who had been thrashed 6–0 by AZ Alkmaar in the KNVB Beker before throwing away a two-goal lead in a 2–2 Eredivisie draw with Go Ahead Eagles, where Davy Klaassen finished off a swift counter-attack to open the scoring, Kasper Dolberg doubled the advantage, Thibo Baeten pulled one back eight minutes into the second half after poor defending, and Milan Smit’s powerful volley on the hour mark completed the comeback.

Earlier in the winter period, Ajax returned from the break with a narrow but valuable 3–2 away win over Telstar in the Eredivisie, while their final league fixture of 2025 ended in frustration with a 2–2 draw away to NEC Nijmegen, as they dropped points despite scoring twice on the road.

In Europe, Ajax had already rounded off their Champions League commitments for the calendar year with an emphatic 4–2 away victory over Qarabag FK in early December, and now back in domestic action, interim head coach Fred Grim will look for his side to carry that continental momentum forward as they prepare to face Volendam on Saturday.

Historically, the fixture strongly favours the Amsterdam club, who have lost just twice in their last 20 meetings with Volendam in all competitions since 1993 and, across 62 encounters overall, have recorded 42 wins, 11 draws and nine defeats while scoring 175 goals and conceding 67.

© Imago

Volendam ended a five-match Eredivisie losing streak on Sunday with a 2–1 victory over FC Utrecht, having earlier started their 2026 league campaign with a narrow 1–0 defeat away to AZ Alkmaar at the AFAS Stadion, where Sven Mijnans’ ninth-minute strike proved decisive.

Their final league outing of 2025 had also brought disappointment, as they were beaten 1–0 at home by Sparta Rotterdam in December, a result that came during a difficult run which also saw defeats to FC Groningen (3–0), a dramatic 3–2 home loss to NEC Nijmegen, and a 3–0 away defeat to league leaders PSV late in the year.

The win over Utrecht followed signs of a modest revival for the club, who had already secured a 2–1 away victory over Sparta Rotterdam in the KNVB Beker on Thursday, a result that booked Volendam a quarter-final trip to NEC Nijmegen.

Rick Kruys’ side go into this fixture as clear underdogs, having taken just two points from their last six Eredivisie meetings with Ajax while losing four of those matches, conceding 14 goals and scoring seven, although despite their lack of wins they have shown attacking resilience by failing to score only once in that run, in a 2–0 defeat in November 2023.

Away from home, Het Andere Oranje have endured a particularly tough campaign, losing all seven of their away league matches this season while also allowing the highest number of goal attempts in the Eredivisie, conceding 349 attempts across 20 matches compared to a league average of 265.6, at a rate of 17.4 attempts per match.

Despite those defensive concerns, Volendam have stood out for their discipline, receiving the fewest yellow cards in the division with just 25 bookings in 20 matches, well below the league average of 33.2, at an average of 1.2 yellow cards per match.

Ajax Eredivisie form:

Ajax form (all competitions):

FC Volendam Eredivisie form:

FC Volendam form (all competitions):

Team News

© Imago / DeFodi Images

Grim’s side will be without Owen Wijndal for Saturday’s encounter, with the left-back serving the final game of his suspension after receiving a red card in the KNVB Beker defeat to AZ Alkmaar, having already missed the 2–2 Eredivisie draw with Go Ahead Eagles.

Ajax will also be without Wout Weghorst, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Steven Berghuis, all of whom remain sidelined due to ongoing injury and fitness issues.

Volendam, meanwhile, are set to travel without Gibson Yah, Anthony Descotte and Henk Veerman, with Yah sustaining a knee injury in the away defeat to AZ Alkmaar, Veerman also injured in the same fixture and forced off at halftime, and Descotte sidelined since the away match against NEC Nijmegen with no clear timetable for his return.

The visitors’ squad does, however, include several players with strong links to Amsterdam, as Nick Verschuren is currently on loan from Ajax, Precious Ugwu joined permanently from the capital last summer, Yah, Robin van Cruijsen, Joel Ideho, Aurelio Oehlers and Robert Muhren all spent time in Ajax’s youth academy, and Sean Steur is another familiar figure to the Amsterdam faithful.

Ajax possible starting lineup:

Jaros; Gaaei, Bouwman, Baas, Rosa; Klaassen, Regeer, Mokio; Gloukh, Godts, Dolberg

FC Volendam possible starting lineup:

Oevelen; Ugwu, Amevor, Verschuren, Leliendal; Bukala, Kwakman, Kokcu; Ideho, Oehlers, Kuwas

We say: Ajax 2-2 FC Volendam

This fixture has traditionally produced plenty of goals, and another high-scoring contest is expected on Saturday given that both sides have shown signs of improved form in recent outings.

The most recent meeting between the teams ended in a 1–1 draw, and although Ajax have historically dominated the matchup, Volendam have shown they can cause problems and could yet threaten to take a point from their visit to Amsterdam this weekend.

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