Looking to bounce back from dropped points in each of their last two league matches, Ajax visit the Mandemakers Stadion to take on RKC Waalwijk on Sunday.
The home side, who are unbeaten in five of their last six outings, will be aiming to continue their surge up the Eredivisie table.
Match preview
Ajax were involved in a share of the spoils for the second game running following a goalless draw versus Go Ahead Eagles just before the international break.
Erik ten Hag's men were in the ascendancy for the majority of the contest but could not find a breakthrough in Amsterdam.
Consequently, De Godenzonen have now seen their lead over PSV Eindhoven at the top of the standings cut down to just goal difference.
A perfect opportunity to get back on track awaits versus an opposing side who have lost 12 of the last 13 meetings between the teams in the last decade.
Having let in just one goal away from home so far, Sunday's visitors will be seeking to use that defensive solidity as a foundation to secure all three points.
Waalwijk played out a second consecutive draw on the road courtesy of a 1-1 stalemate versus Groningen at the Euroborg on November 7.
Joseph Oosting's men took the lead in the 14th minute through Michiel Kramer before conceding an 85th-minute leveller to Jorgen Strand Larsen.
With 11 points from 12 games, RKC are 14th on the log as things stand and are just a point above the drop zone.
Sunday's hosts, who have picked up seven of their 11 points on home turf, now go in search of another positive result in front of their fans.
RKC Waalwijk Eredivisie form:
RKC Waalwijk form (all competitions):
Ajax Eredivisie form:
Ajax form (all competitions):
Team News
Portuguese goalkeeper Joel Pereira is ruled out due to a hernia problem, while David Min continues to battle with a knee injury.
Richard van der Venne was hauled off with an ankle injury during the hosts' 1-1 draw with Go Ahead Eagles last month and has not featured since then.
Twenty-seven-year-old Sean Klaiber is yet to recover from a knee injury, and he is not expected to be available for the away side on Sunday.
Ajax will also have to make do with the absence of first-choice goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg, who is sidelined with a hip injury.
RKC Waalwijk possible starting lineup:
Vaessen; Touba, Meulensteen, Gaari, Buttner; Anita, Azhil, Bel Hassani; Odgaard, Bakari, Kramer
Ajax possible starting lineup:
Pasveer; Mazraoui, Timber, Martinez, Blind; Alvarez, Gravenberch, Berghuis; Antony, Tadic, Haller
We said: RKC Waalwijk 0-3 Ajax
Judging by previous meetings between the teams, it is hard to envisage any other outcome rather than a victory for the away side. We expect the game to pan out that way with Ajax strolling to a comfortable victory come the full-time whistle.
Read more.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 73.73%. A draw had a probability of 15.8% and a win for RKC Waalwijk had a probability of 10.44%.
The most likely scoreline for an Ajax win was 0-2 with a probability of 11.01%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.28%) and 0-3 (9.23%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (7.38%), while for a RKC Waalwijk win it was 2-1 (3.11%). The actual scoreline of 0-5 was predicted with a 2.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Ajax would win this match.
