Preview: Ajax vs. RKC Waalwijk - prediction, team news, lineups

The Eredivisie is acceptable to resume this weekend, and connected Saturday, we volition spot Ajax look disconnected against a struggling RKC Waalwijk astatine the Johan Cruijff Arena successful Amsterdam.

These sides participate the New Year with contrasting ambitions, with the hosts looking to equine a situation for the rubric portion the visitors are aiming to debar relegation.

Match preview

© Imago

Ajax shook disconnected the festive play rust with a affable against Bundesliga outfit Stuttgart past weekend, which allowed Francesco Farioli to springiness 22 players a tally retired pursuing the two-week break.

De Godenzonen enactment unneurotic an fantabulous tally of signifier crossed October and November past year, picking up six wins and a gully successful 7 matches, which saw them adjacent the spread to league leaders PSV heading into December.

However, they were held to a 2-2 gully against Utrecht astatine the commencement of past period and mislaid to AZ Alkmaar a week later, which led to them giving up the crushed they made up, slipping backmost to six points down the defending champions.

Nevertheless, Farioli's broadside bounced backmost from those results with 2 awesome showings to extremity the year, beating Almere City 3-0 and Sparta Rotterdam 2-0, with Kenneth Taylor netting successful some victories.

The hosts volition undoubtedly beryllium expecting to travel distant from this weekend's fixture with each 3 points, arsenic they person yet to sensation decision successful the league astatine the Johan Cruijff Arena this play (W7 D1 L0) and person scored 2 oregon much goals successful six of those matches.

© Imago

Meanwhile, aft hardly escaping the driblet past season, RKC Waalwijk are present the odds-on favourites to beryllium relegated this term, having lone managed 7 points implicit the archetypal fractional of the campaign.

Henk Fraser's side's past lucifer ended successful a disappointing 1-1 location gully against PEC Zwolle, marking their sixth consecutive league crippled without victory, dating backmost to their lone triumph this play implicit Almere City astatine the commencement of November.

Notably, RKC person fared amended than astir of the teams successful the bottommost fractional of the array successful onslaught this word with 18 goals, but their downfall has been their leaky defence, which has already shipped a monolithic 41 goals to date, conscionable 15 less than they fto successful crossed the full past season.

The visitors besides recovered it precise hard connected the roadworthy successful 2024, earning conscionable 2 points from 8 distant league games, portion conceding 2 oregon much goals successful each but 1 of those matches.

RKC were beaten 2-0 astatine location by this hostile successful the reverse fixture successful September, and person mislaid each of their past 12 top-flight matches against Ajax dating backmost to a goalless gully successful October 2013.

Ajax Eredivisie form:

Ajax signifier (all competitions):

RKC Waalwijk Eredivisie form:

RKC Waalwijk signifier (all competitions):

Team News

© Imago

Chuba Akpom came disconnected the seat to nett the leveller successful the affable against Stuttgart past play and helium should signifier portion of the guardant trio from the commencement successful this lucifer alongside Wout Weghorst and Taylor.

The hosts presently person 4 players sidelined owed to injury, including semipermanent absentee Gaston Avila, on with Sivert Mannsverk (ankle), Amourricho Van Axel-Dongen (ankle) and Benjamin Tahirovic (concussion).

RKC, connected the different hand, could beryllium without 5 players for this match, with Yanick van Osch and Juan Familia-Castillo decidedly ruled retired owed to injury, portion Dario Van Den Buijs, Richard Van Der Venne and Daouda Weidmann are listed arsenic doubts.

The 1 affirmative for the visitors implicit the closing stages of the archetypal fractional of the play was the upturn successful the signifier of guardant Oskar Zawada, who scored 4 goals successful his past 3 matches, and helium volition astir surely pb the enactment this weekend.

Ajax imaginable starting lineup:
Pasveer; Gaaei, Rugani, Baas, Rensch; Henderson, Klaassen, Hato; Taylor, Weghorst, Akpom

We say: Ajax 3-1 RKC Waalwijk

Despite dropping points during the run-in to the extremity of 2024, Ajax were fantabulous astatine location crossed the full archetypal fractional of the season. The hosts person dominated this fixture, winning each of the past 12 top-flight matches against RKC, and we consciousness they volition unafraid different reasonably comfy triumph this weekend.

For information investigation of the astir apt results, scorelines and much for this lucifer please click here.

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