Looking to pick up their first win of the 2022-23 Eredivisie campaign, FC Utrecht square off against Ajax at the Stadion Galgenwaard on Sunday.
The league champions head into the weekend unbeaten in their last five away games against Utreg in the league, claiming four wins and one draw, and will look to keep the juggernaut rolling.
Match preview
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FC Utrecht failed to find their feet in the new Dutch top-flight campaign as they fell to a 3-2 defeat against newly-promoted Emmen at De Oude Meerdijk last weekend.
Having led 2-1 at half time courtesy of goals from Anastasios Douvikas and Bas Dost, Utreg imploded in the second period as Rui Mendes and Jari Vlak found the target in a 20-minute spell to turn the game on its head.
Prior to that, Utrecht kicked off their season on August 6 when they fought back from behind to salvage a 2-2 draw with RKC Waalwijk before being held to an uneventful goalless draw by Cambuur one week later.
Henk Fraser's side have now failed to win seven of their last eight competitive games — losing three and claiming four draws — with May's 3-1 first-leg win over Vitesse in the Europa League playoffs being the only exception.
However, Utrecht head into the weekend in fine form at home, claiming two wins and three draws in their most recent five games in front of their fans, with their last defeat coming in March when they were beaten 3-1 by Groningen.
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Meanwhile, Ajax could not have hoped for a better start to their Eredivisie title defence as they are the only side to pick up three wins from their opening three games of the new season.
Having kicked off the domestic campaign with a 5-2 loss against PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch Super Cup, Alfred Schreuder's men claimed a hard-earned 3-2 win over Fortuna Sittard in their league opener on August 6 before steamrolling Groningen 6-1 in their first home game of the season one week later.
Ajax maintained their 100% start in the league last weekend when they saw off Sparta Rotterdam 1-0 away from home courtesy of a 37th-minute strike from former Tottenham man Steven Bergwijn.
The reigning champions are now unbeaten in each of their last 13 Eredivisie outings, picking up an impressive 11 wins and two draws since a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Go Ahead Eagles back in February.
Ajax, who have been drawn in Group A of this season's Champions League alongside Liverpool, Napoli and Rangers, now take a trip to the Stadion Galgenwaard, where they are unbeaten in five consecutive league visits, dating back to a 1-0 loss in 2015.
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Team News
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Utrecht will be without several key players down the spine of the team, including the trio of Mike van der Hoorn, Bart Ramselaar and Tommy St. Jago, who have been sidelined through knee injuries.
Sander Van de Streek is set to sit out his fifth consecutive game after coming off injured in the pre-season clash against AEK Athens, while Ramon Hendriks is currently recuperating from an ACL injury.
As far as Ajax are concerned, Brazilian winger Antony is expected to sit out this weekend's matchup amidst transfer interest from Manchester United.
On the injury front, Schreuder will be unable to call upon the services of Mohamed Ihattaren after the Dutch midfielder came off injured in the friendly game against Paderborn back in July.
FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:
Barkas; Van der Maarel, Viergever, Sagnan; Avest, Toornstra, Brouwers, Bozdogan, Boussaid; Dost, Redan
Ajax possible starting lineup:
Pasveer; Rensch, Timber, Bassey, Blind; Alvarez, Tadic, Taylor; Berghuis, Brobbey, Bergwijn
We say: FC Utrecht 0-2 Ajax
While Utrecht will be looking to get their league campaign up and running, next up is the stern test of taking on the reigning champions whose last league defeat came back in February. We predict a one-sided affair at the Stadion Galgenwaard with Ajax coming away with a comfortable win.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
