Groningen vs Ajax

On Wednesday, Ajax fly to the Euroborg to meet Groningen, who must hold their nerve and come over the humiliation of a loss last week that opened the Eredivisie title race up.

With their penultimate game of the campaign now upon them, Ajax now sit at the helm of the league, a point above the second-placed team, while a win for Groningen this week will see them climb up into the top eight.

The questions are piling-up as to whether Ajax are on the cusp of handing away the league title, after suffering a third successive game without a win in an annoying home defeat to NEC at the weekend.

Despite having huge periods of commanding their opponents, having 65% of possession and 22 attempts at goal, only four of Ajax’s shots were on target and they clearly missed the hunger of an attack with Brian Brobbey and Oliver Edvardsen sidelined.

Not only did the result mean that the De Godenzonen had never been beaten by NEC at Johan Cruijff ArenA in the top flight before, but they also headed the league standings cast back to a solitary point after PSV noted a dramatic win against Feyenoord.

Moreover, it was the first time Francesco Farioli’s side lost three games on the trot since February 2024, and those eight goals that they conceded during this patch are more than what they had shipped in the previous 15 league games since mid December.

Returning nerves will be an issue for the visitors again this week but they will take solace from their record in this fixture, the last six meetings between the two clubs have seen them win at the expense of this opponent with a 3-1 win in the reverse fixture back in October bearing the biggest fruit.

Groningen have made an impressive comeback to the top flight, currently sitting on 38 points with just two matches left. While European qualification remains a slim possibility, their season has been a success overall.

However, their momentum took a hit over the weekend with a disappointing 3-0 loss to AZ, halting the excitement from their previous two high-scoring victories. This defeat highlighted a concerning trend—it was their fourth loss in six games, with each of those losses seeing them concede three or more goals. Additionally, they’ve failed to keep a clean sheet since the March international break.

Despite these setbacks, Groningen will still fancy their chances against Ajax, given the visitors’ recent struggles. The Euroborg has been a fortress for them this season, with just one defeat in their last 11 home league matches—a loss to league leaders PSV.