Aiming to prove their worth at the top table of Dutch football, NAC Breda will welcome Eredivisie and European contenders Ajax to Rat Verlegh Stadion on Sunday evening.
The Pearl of the South struggled severely on their return to this level last weekend, whilst De Godenzonen have been extremely busy on both domestic and continental fronts so far this summer.
Match preview
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After three failed attempts of sneaking into the Eredivisie via the second-tier playoffs, NAC Breda made it fourth time lucky during a bizarre end to the 2024-25 campaign, meaning that a side who lost 12 games and finished eighth in the Eerste Divisie is now amongst Dutch football's elite.
The Pearl of the South need to seriously improve on their opening-weekend showing if they wish to remain at this level for more than just the single season, with the Breda-based club suffering a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Groningen, who found themselves three goals to the good after only 31 minutes.
Receiving his marching orders six minutes into the contest at Euroborg, centre-back Enes Mahmutovic massively impacted his side's chances of recording a result on the road, with the newly-promoted outfit forced to fight on with a numerical disadvantage for over 80 minutes.
Finding the net from the penalty spot in Groningen last weekend, Dominik Janosek will need to pull a few rabbits of the hat this season if NAC Breda are to avoid an immediate return to the Eerste Divisie, with the 26-year-old providing a team-leading 26 goal contributions across all competitions during 2023-24.
Rather unsurprisingly, the Pearl of the South's recent record against Sunday's visitors is not pleasant reading for those of a Breda persuasion, with Ajax coming out victorious in each of the last four Eredivisie meetings between the sides by an aggregate scoreline of 19-1.
Suffering their lowest Eredivisie placement since the 1999-00 campaign, Ajax finished fifth in the Dutch top flight at the conclusion of a woeful 2023-24 season under multiple managers, falling an eye-watering 35 points behind eventual champions PSV Eindhoven.
De Godenzonen's road back to the top of the Eredivisie started on a positive note last Sunday, when Francesco Farioli's troops secured a narrow one-goal success over Heerenveen at Johan Cruyff Arena, with Icelandic midfielder Kristian Hlynsson popping up with the decisive strike just before the half-time whistle.
Owing to their relatively-low standing domestically last season, Ajax are competing in the qualifying rounds of UEFA's second club competition during the early part of the 2024-25 term, with a 13-12 penalty-shootout win over Greek giants Panathinaikos setting up a two-legged playoff versus Jagiellonia Bialystok for a place in the Europa League proper.
A lot of De Godenzonen's embarrassing defeats last season arrived on the road, as Sunday's visitors conceded an alarming 40 goals during 17 Eredivisie matches across 2023-24, with only the relegated trio of Vitesse (44), SBV Excelsior (46) and Volendam (44) possessing poorer defensive records away from home.
Despite their worrying campaign last time out, Ajax have not been overly busy during the summer transfer window to date, with former Aston Villa winger Bertrand Traore the only notable arrival at the Johan Cruyff Arena.
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Team News
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After seeing red during the opening stages against Groningen last weekend, defender Mamutovic will be unavailable for NAC Breda this weekend.
As a result, captain Jan van den Bergh and Leo Greiml will require a new partner at centre-back, with Slovakian Martin Koscelnik representing a possible candidate for the role.
Ajax remain without the services of Amourricho van Axel Dongen, who has not featured for either of the club's sides since picking up an injury in early April.
De Godenzonen are also short of options at centre-back, with Gaston Avila recovering from a serious knee injury sustained at the beginning of the calendar year.
Spending last season on loan at Belgian Pro League side Royal Antwerp, Owen Wijndal is now back in Amsterdam but is yet to feature due to a shoulder issue.
NAC Breda possible starting lineup:
Bielica; Kuijpers, Greiml, Koscelnik, Van den Bergh, Royo; Staring, Balard, Janosek; Omarsson, Kostorz
Ajax possible starting lineup:
Pasveer; Gaaei, Sutalo, Baas, Hato; Van den Boomen, Mannsverk, Hlynsson; Berghuis, Godts, Akpom
We say: NAC Breda 1-3 Ajax
NAC Breda were comprehensively dispatched at the home of Groningen last weekend, so it is hard to imagine the hosts earning anything from the visit of Ajax on Sunday.
De Godenzonen could be leggy following their dramatic Europa League win on Thursday, although the Dutch giants should have more than enough quality to collect maximum points at Rat Verlegh Stadion.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
