Ajax will be looking to end the year on a high when they travel to Sparta-Stadion Het Kasteel to take on a stuttering Sparta Rotterdam in the Eredivisie on Sunday.
These two will head into the New Year with contrasting ambitions, with the visitors aiming to secure a spot in Europe while the hosts will be hoping to avoid the drop.
Match preview
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After finishing the last two top-flight seasons inside the top eight, Sparta Rotterdam have experienced a major fall from grace this term, currently in the bottom three with just 12 points heading to the halfway point of the campaign.
Last weekend, De Kasteelheren looked to have been on course to three points when they took a 1-0 lead against NEC in the 84th minute, but an Ivan Marquez goal in stoppage time denied them the victory, marking their 10th league game without a win.
That was also their sixth drawn result of the season - the most of any team in the division - and the first point the team earned since October 19, when they played out a 2-2 draw against basement club Almere City.
Unfortunately, Sparta suffered disappointment in midweek as well, when they were beaten by Go Ahead Eagles on penalties, bringing an end to their KNVB Beker campaign in round two of the competition.
Maurice Steijn has yet to taste victory after six games in his second stint at the club, and it will not get much easier this week, facing his former team, who are right in the thick of the title race.
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Indeed, Ajax saw the gap to league leaders PSV Eindhoven narrow to six points last week when the defending champions suffered a shock 1-0 defeat on the road to Heerenveen.
De Godenzonen beat Almere City 3-0 in their last outing, which also allowed them to move back into second spot, thanks to Utrecht dropping points at home to Go Ahead Eagles in a six-goal thriller.
With that result, Ajax have now scored a total of 35 goals this season - second-most behind PSV - and have only failed to net two or more in five of their 16 league matches so far this term.
Francesco Farioli's side are looking to end the year with a third straight victory following their domestic cup success in midweek against Telstar, while in the league competition, the new boss has still only suffered defeat twice since taking charge.
Team News
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The hosts will have to make do without Mike Eerdhuijzen due to suspension for this match, after the central defender was shown his fifth yellow card of the season last week against NEC.
Jonathan de Guzman has been ruled out for the foreseeable future having undergone knee surgery, but Pelle Clement and Joshua Kitolano have both shaken off knocks and should be available for selection.
Brian Brobbey and Bertrand Traore both started the midweek cup victory over Telstar for Ajax, but Farioli will likely bring Wout Weghorst and Chuba Akpom back into the starting 11 for this match.
The visitors are still without long-term absentee Gaston Avila, who is working his way back to fitness following surgery, while Benjamin Tahirovic will remain sidelined due to ongoing concussion protocol.
Sparta Rotterdam possible starting lineup:
Olij; Bakari, Young, Reith, Van Aanholt; Baas, Kitolano; Clement, Verschueren, Mito; Lauritsen
Ajax possible starting lineup:
Pasveer; Rensch, Rugani, Baas, Wijndal; Fitz-Jim, Henderson, Klaassen; Akpom, Weghorst, Taylor
We say: Sparta Rotterdam 1-2 Ajax
Sparta Rotterdam have been very poor this season, particularly on their home patch, where they have not won a single league game this term and are now at risk of a fourth loss in succession.
Ajax, on the other hand, have lost only one of their last seven on the road, and we feel they will improve that record with another victory in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
