The line-up of Ajax for the home match against FC Groningen is known. Trainer Erik ten Hag chooses Jurriën Timber on Saturday evening to replace Perr Schuurs. Timber dropped out before the match against Fortuna Sittard (0-5 win) due to illness. The duel in the Johan Cruijff ArenA is led by Pol van Boekel and will start at 6.45 pm.
Davy Klaassen could make his comeback on Saturday evening. The attacking midfielder sustained an injury with the Dutch national team and has been absent since then, but is fit again. Klaassen starts on the bench, so that Steven Berghuis is again the number ten of Ajax. Maarten Stekelenburg is still injured, so Remko Pasveer defends the goal.
Ajax has won the last thirteen home matches against FC Groningen in the Eredivisie, kept a clean sheet ten times in this series and only conceded three goals in total. FC Groningen won a competition match with Ajax in both 2019/20 and 2020/21 and can win a match against the team from Amsterdam for the first time in club history in three consecutive seasons.
The Ten Hag team has scored at least five times in each of the last three home games in the Eredivisie and can become the second team ever to do so four times in a row, after PSV in 1973. Ajax managed to keep a clean sheet in each of them. the last four Eredivisie matches and for the first time since November 2018, in five consecutive league matches in a row, he cannot concede a goal.
Ajax setup: feather; Mazraoui, Timber, Martinez, Blind; Álvarez, Berghuis, Gravenberch; Antony, Haller, Tadic
FC Groningen line-up: Leeuwenburgh; Dankerlui, Dammers, Kasanwirjo, Sverko, Kalley; Ngonge, Suslov; El Hankouri, Beach Larsen, Abraham