Round 23 of the 2022-23 Eredivisie season sees Vitesse entertain the challenge of defending champions Ajax at GelreDome on Sunday afternoon.
Off the back of respective defeats last time out, the teams head into this weekend's clash in need of a lift, which should make for an exciting watch.
Match preview
Ajax's humiliation on the continental front this term was taken to new heights as Union Berlin ran out 3-1 winners in Thursday's Europa League concluding fixture at Stadion An der Alten Forsterei.
Goals from Robin Knoche and Josip Juranovic left Johnny Heitinga's men with a mountain to climb at the break, but Mohammed Kudus's early second-half strike restored a bit of hope, after which Danilho Doekhi sealed the deal with a fine finish.
Prior to that, De Godenzonen saw off the threat of Sparta Rotterdam in an emphatic 4-0 victory to move up to second place in the Eredivisie table, three points behind Feyenoord.
Their next task sees them face off against an opposing outfit who are seeking a first win in 12 editions of this fixture since claiming a 3-2 win in 2018.
Having netted the most away goals in the division so far, Sunday's visitors will aim to put on another show of attacking prowess on enemy territory.
Vitesse saw their four-game unbeaten run come to an end against FC Volendam following a 2-0 defeat in Saturday's meeting between the sides.
Goals in either half from Dutch forward Daryl van Mieghem put Phillip Cocu's men to the sword in what proved to be a highly entertaining contest at the Kras Stadion.
With 23 points from 22 games so far, Geel en Zwart are 13th in the standings, six points clear of relegation danger and as many points adrift of a place in the top half.
In the first of three games against top-four sides over the next couple of weeks, Sunday's hosts will be looking to come away with a positive result to help set the tone for the rest of their high-profile games.
Team News
Carlens Arcus remains ineligible to feature in this one after the Haiti international received his marching orders against Utrecht a fortnight ago.
Davy Propper is also out of contention for the hosts as he continues to battle with a knee injury, which will keep him out of a third straight match.
Ajax's Mohammed Kudus has got himself on the scoresheet in four of his last five matches, making the 22-year-old one to keep an eye on.
Youri Baas and Ahmet Kaplan are long-term absentees for the away side, although the latter is relatively closer to making a return to action.
Vitesse possible starting lineup:
Scherpen; Yapi, Oroz, Isimat-Mirin, Wittek; Flamingo, Meulensteen; Manhoef, Vidovic, Van Ginkel; Bialek
Ajax possible starting lineup:
Rulli; Rensch, Alvarez, Timber, Wijndal; Taylor, Klaassen, Berghuis; Kudus, Tadic, Bergwijn
We say: Vitesse 1-3 Ajax
Having been dumped out of Europe quite early, Ajax know that anything less than a league title would represent a disastrous season for them. We are backing them to get the job done here and keep the pressure up on Feyenoord in the race for glory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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