📊 Form Guide

Ajax

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Ajax are hoping to win again after their last result, the 2-1 Eredivisie victory against FC Twente.

In that game, Ajax had 57% possession and 8 shots on goal with 4 of them on target. For Ajax, the scorers were Brian Brobbey (59') and Steven Bergwijn (81'). On the other side, FC Twente got 7 attempts on goal with 3 on target. Ricky van Wolfswinkel (31') was the scorer for FC Twente.

Three or more goals per game were recorded in 5 of the last 6 meetings where Ajax have taken part. Opposition teams scored 15 times in this period while Ajax managed to get a total of 8.

Pre-game facts show that Ajax:

• have not lost a league tie with Excelsior in their last 18 games. What a record.
• are undefeated in their previous 12 league matches at home. It's been impressive.

Excelsior

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Excelsior head into the clash after a 4-0 Eredivisie win with the eclipse of FC Volendam in their most recent match.

In that game, Excelsior had 64% possession and 35 shots at goal with 15 on target. For Excelsior, goals were scored by Lance Duijvestijn (41'), Lazaros Lamprou (43', 67') and Troy Parrott (55'). On the other side, FC Volendam got 13 attempts at goal with 5 on target.

The stats don’t lie, and Excelsior have been scored against in 5 of their last 6 games, with opponents netting 12 goals overall. Defensively, Excelsior seem to have a bit of a soft underbelly. We shall soon see if that trend will be continued on in this game.

Coming into this clash, Excelsior haven’t won away from home in the past 12 league games. Very poor, indeed.

↔️ Head to head

Checking on their past head to head results stretching back to 06/05/2018 tells us that these encounters have not been happy ones for Excelsior. They’ve not been able to get any wins at all while Ajax have been superior, winning in 83 per cent of those games played.

Those games weren’t short on goals, either, with 36 in all which averages out at 6 goals per meeting.

The previous league game featuring the two was Eredivisie match day 3 on 19/08/2023 when it ended Excelsior 2-2 Ajax.

The referee was Dennis Higler.

📰 Team News: Ajax

Jay Gorter (Hand injury), Steven Berghuis (Back injury), Gastón Ávila (Knee injury), Kristian Hlynsson (unknown injury), Amourricho van Axel Dongen (unknown injury) and Diant Ramaj (Elbow injury) aren’t available for Ajax manager John van 't Schip.

It looks as if de Godenzonen look set to employ a 3-4-2-1 formation for the game featuring Geronimo Rulli, Josip Sutalo, Jorrel Hato, Ahmetcan Kaplan, Devyne Rensch, Kenneth Taylor, B. van den, S. H. Mannsverk, Mika Godts, Steven Bergwijn and Brian Brobbey.

📋 Team News: Excelsior

Excelsior boss Marinus Dijkhuizen has to choose a team with limited availability. Arthur Zagré (unknown injury), Ian Smeulers (Ankle injury), Lennard Hartjes (Knee injury), Jacky Donkor (Knee injury), Kik Pierie (Foot injury), Serano Seymor (Foot injury), Couhaib Driouech (Hamstring injury) and Norbert Alblas (Cruciate ligament tear) miss out here. Troy Parrott cannot play in this game through suspension.

We are inclined to think that Roodzwarten seem most likely to play in a 4-2-3-1 system with a starting lineup of Stijn van Gassel, Siebe Horemans, Sven Nieuwpoort, Casper Widell, Siem de Moes, Cisse Sandra, Julian Baas, Lazaros Lamprou, Lance Duijvestijn, Kenzo Goudmijn and Richie Omorowa.

💡 Prediction

Our feeling is that Ajax have it within them to be able to create a decent number of chances and shots on target.

At the same time, Excelsior will not find it easy to score a goal of their own - but, we do see them managing to get on the scoresheet.

We reckon that it will be a controlled 3-1 winning margin for Ajax at the end of the 90 minutes.

Our expert partners are tipping over 1.5 goals for this match. Check out their VIP predictions here.

Andre Moura, 18:05 24/04/2024