PSV vs Ajax

Eredivisie Showdown: PSV vs. Ajax in High-Stakes "De Topper" Clash

The Eredivisie is back this weekend after a two-week hiatus, and all eyes will be on Philips Stadion as PSV Eindhoven take on Ajax in a thrilling De Topper encounter this Sunday.

Both teams will now focus entirely on domestic glory after their recent exits from European competitions. PSV, despite a strong start to the season with 14 wins in their first 16 games, have struggled since the turn of the year and now trail league leaders Ajax by six points.

PSV headed into the international break with a 3-0 victory over struggling RKC Waalwijk on March 15, bouncing back from their 9-3 aggregate defeat to Arsenal in the Champions League. Ivan Perisic opened the scoring early, Noa Lang added a second before halftime, and Luuk de Jong sealed the win before the hour mark.

However, that result was a rare bright spot in an otherwise shaky run—PSV have only two wins in their last six league matches and just four in their last 11 since mid-December. Still, the defending champions remain unbeaten at home this season, with 10 wins and three draws in 13 games, and have scored two or more goals in all but one of those matches.

Ajax, meanwhile, were also knocked out of Europe, suffering a 6-2 aggregate loss to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League round of 16. Their last Eredivisie outing saw them battle to a 2-2 draw against AZ Alkmaar, a fiery contest that saw both teams finish with 10 men after red cards for Anton Gaaei and Alexandre Penetra.

With the title race heating up, Sunday’s clash promises to be a must-watch showdown between two Dutch giants.

Gaaei leveled the game shortly before the hour mark after Zico Buurmeester started the scoring, and Oliver Edvardsen scored to give Ajax a share of the spoils two minutes after Ibrahim Sadiq restored AZ's advantage.

That loss came after Francesco Farioli's team had won 10 consecutive league games dating back to early December, and the Italian strategist has only lost twice in the top tier since coming in Amsterdam at the beginning of the season.

Ajax's two losses this season have occurred on the road, but they will have a tiny psychological edge going into this game after defeating this opponent 3-2 at home in the reverse fixture in November.