Preview: SBV Excelsior vs Ajax - prediction, team news, lineups

Dutch supremos Ajax travel to Excelsior in the Eredivisie on Sunday looking to keep pace with second-placed Feyenoord, while their newly promoted hosts seek to stave off the potential of a relegation scrap.

Any title aspirations have long since dissipated for the Amsterdammers, with table-toppers PSV Eindhoven 16 points better off, but a shot at Champions League football again next term is still within reach.

Match preview

Excelsior have drawn their last three games on the spin, playing out a goalless stalemate against FC Twente last time out, in a game that saw both the woodwork and goalkeeper Stijn van Gassel come to the Kralingers rescue on multiple occasions.

The Rotterdam minnows sit 13th in the Dutch top flight, and while they have lost 50% of their league games this term, four of their six wins have come at Stadion Woudestein, and they will be hoping to leverage home advantage here.

Ruben den Uil’s side have netted the fewest goals in the division this term, having scored just 20, with all of their victories sealed by one-goal margins.

Sunday’s hosts will take encouragement from the reverse fixture, though, registering a historic 2-1 triumph at the Johan Cruyff Arena back in November, with Noah Naujoks’s heroic brace proving the difference.

Ajax’s dismal continental campaign concluded on Wednesday, with interim head coach Fred Grim’s side succumbing to Olympiacos in a 2-1 defeat.

De Godenzonen are sitting third in the Eredivisie, just two points off bitter rivals Feyenoord, as they seek improve on an underwhelming season so far.

While they have lost just once on their travels in the league this term, slow starts have meant they have been held to five draws, coming from behind in every one of those games.

Sunday’s visitors are on a seven-game unbeaten run in the league, with their last defeat coming at the hands of Excelsior – a side Ajax had only ever lost to twice before in their history.

SBV Excelsior Eredivisie form:

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Ajax Eredivisie form:

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Ajax form (all competitions):

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Team News

Excelsior remain without Stefan Mitrovic, who has now missed six consecutive matches due to illness and will need to be assessed closer to kickoff.

New January signing Emil Hansson starred against Telstar and was rewarded with another outing versus AZ Alkmaar, but after being named among the substitutes against Twente, the winger will be keen to force his way back into the starting XI.

Meanwhile, Ajax are set to be without Wout Weghorst and Steven Berghuis through injury, while Takehiro Tomiyasu is still working his way back to full sharpness following his winter move, restricting Grim’s choices at both ends of the field.

Bo Itakura also remains a doubt as he continues his recovery from a back problem, leaving top scorer Mika Godts, with eight goals and seven assists, primed to shoulder the attacking responsibility once more.

SBV Excelsior possible starting lineup:

Van Gassel; Zagra, Widell, Meissen, Bronkhorst; Yegoian, Hartjes, Naujoks; Hansson, Fernandes, Bergraaf

Ajax possible starting lineup:

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

We say: SBV Excelsior 0-2 Ajax

Despite their European campaign going out with a whimper in midweek, Ajax return to domestic football in impressive form, and that looks set to continue here. Excelsior's lack of goalscoring prowess and leaky defence is likely to be exploited by Grim's side.

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