Ajax and FC Twente draw the curtain on round 22 of the 2021-22 Eredivisie season with their meeting at the Johan Cruyff ArenA on Sunday.
This weekend's contest is the second meeting between the sides this term following a 1-1 stalemate in August's reverse fixture.
Match preview
© Reuters
Ajax made light work of Vitesse in their KNVB-Beker quarter-final on Wednesday courtesy of a resounding 5-0 victory.
Antony and Sebastien Haller scored two goals apiece, while Dusan Tadic also got on the scoresheet as Erik ten Hag's men ran riot in Amsterdam.
De Godenzonen currently sit five points clear at the top of the Eredivisie table and are firmly in the driving seat to be crowned champions come May.
Their next task comes against an opposing side who have won just one of the last eight clashes between the teams dating back to 2017.
With 41 goals scored and just three conceded in 11 home league games this term, Sunday's hosts have been solid at both ends of the pitch and will be looking to put on another impressive performance in front of their fans.
© Reuters
Twente secured a third consecutive league victory since the turn of the year by beating Vitesse 3-0 at De Grolsch Veste on Saturday.
Jesse Bosch broke the deadlock in the 18th minute before Ricky van Wolfswinkel scored twice to lead Ron Jans's men to all three points.
Having picked up 41 points from their 21 games so far, The Tukkers are fourth in the league standings at the moment, 10 points adrift of top spot.
Sunday's visitors have not lost away from home since a 5-2 defeat to PSV Eindhoven in October but are faced with arguably their toughest assignment on the road this weekend.
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- D
- W
- W
- W
- W
- D
- W
- L
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Sean Klaiber is ruled out with a knee problem and will not feature this weekend, while Maarten Stekelenburg is also ruled out with a hip injury.
With the Africa Cup of Nations now over, goalkeeper Andre Onana is available once again but Remko Pasveer is expected to continue between the sticks.
Sebastien Haller has scored five times in his last three outings for Ajax and the 27-year-old will be looking to steal a march in the race for the Golden Boot.
Twente's Wout Brama and Kik Pierie are missing through muscle and back injuries respectively with the latter still yet to feature this term.
The away side will also be without the services of Jody Lukoki who continues to nurse a knee problem which he picked up in April.
Ajax possible starting lineup:
Pasveer; Blind, Martinez, Timber, Mazraoui; Gravenberch, Berghuis, Alvarez; Antony, Tadic, Haller
FC Twente possible starting lineup:
Unnerstall; Troupee, Hilgers, Smal, Propper; Vlap, Zerrouki, Bosch; Rots, Limnios, Van Wolfswinkel
We say: Ajax 3-0 FC Twente
Ajax are seemingly unstoppable at the moment and Twente are the latest team tasked with the responsibility of stopping the defending champions in their tracks. We fancy the home side to coast to a comfortable victory come the end of the 90 minutes.
Top tip
Adepoju Marvellous
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 85.06%. A draw had a probability of 10.4% and a win for FC Twente had a probability of 4.57%.
The most likely scoreline for an Ajax win was 2-0 with a probability of 12.61%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 3-0 (12.52%) and 4-0 (9.33%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (4.93%), while for a FC Twente win it was 0-1 (1.66%). The actual scoreline of 5-0 was predicted with a 5.6% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Ajax would win this match.
