Ajax will be looking to go three wins in a row in the Eredivisie when they head to Asito Stadion in Almelo to face Heracles in gameweek nine on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts went into the international break in 12th place in the league standings, with nine points after eight games, while the visitors were fifth with 13 points in six matches.
Match preview
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Heracles experienced a very slow start to the 2024-25 Eredivisie season, as they failed to win any of their first four matches, drawing two and losing two while conceding seven goals in that period.
However, Heraclieden clicked into gear following the September international break, notching up seven points from three games, including back-to-back wins over NEC and Heerenveen, marking the first time they have won consecutive league games since the start of April.
Unfortunately, Erwin van de Looi's side's unbeaten run was brought to an end by an incredible second-half performance last time out by Go Ahead Eagles, who came back from a goal down in the first 45 to score four unanswered goals in the space 35 minutes in the second period.
That result means that HAFC have now conceded 13 goals in the top flight this season, which is the third-most of any side above the dotted line so far, barring 13th-placed NAC (14) and Heerenveen (17) in 15th.
Still, the hosts have been a difficult team to beat on their home patch this term, having won one and drawn two of their four matches to date, while the only defeat they have conceded was against league-leading PSV.
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Meanwhile, after a tumultuous 2023-24 league campaign, Ajax have begun this season much more positively, posting a record of four wins, one draw and one loss over their first six games.
Additionally, due to the police strikes in Amsterdam earlier this season, De Godenzonen's matches against Feyenoord and Utrecht were postponed, meaning they have played two games fewer than the majority of the teams around them in the league standings.
Francesco Farioli's went into the international break off the back of a thrilling 3-1 win over Groningen a couple of weeks ago when Wout Weghorst and Chuba Akpom both got on the scoresheet in second-half stoppage time.
With that win, Ajax have now won three of their last four league games, while the result also extended their unbeaten run to eight across all competitions, a period during which the side has scored an impressive 23 goals and conceded only four.
The last time these sides met, Ajax emerged with a 4-2 win, extending their unbeaten record against Heracles to six (W5 D1 L0) dating back to February 2020, and they have outscored them 18-3 across that period.
Team News
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Nikolai Laursen (knee), Sava-Arangel Cestic (ankle) and Stijn Bultman (knee) have not featured at all for Heracles this season due to injury and all three are likely to remain sidelined until next year.
Midfield duo Jan Zamburek and Sem Scheperman are also ruled out due to knee injuries and the pair are facing lengthy periods on the sidelines having undergone surgery in the last month.
Ajax have a fairly significant casualty list at present which features as many as seven players, including long-term absentees Gaston Avila and Steven Berghuis, both of whom are also recovering from surgery.
Youri Baas is the latest to be ruled out due to injury and he will be joined on the sidelines this week by Sivert Mannsverk (ankle), Julian Rijkhoff (knee), Kristian Hlynsson (ankle) and Kian Fitz-Jim (muscle).
Heracles possible starting lineup:
De Keijzer; Benita, Mirani, Mesik, Roosken; Keersmaecker, Van Kaam; Zand, Engels, Podgoreanu; Kulenovic
Ajax possible starting lineup:
Pasveer; Rensch, Sutalo, Baas, Hato; Van den Boomen, Klaassen, Taylor; Traore, Brobbey, Godts
We say: Heracles 1-3 Ajax
While Heracles have shown improvement over the last month, it is difficult to ignore Ajax's incredible record in this fixture, and given the visitors' start this season, we feel they will secure a fairly comfortable three points in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
