AFC Ajax must respond in the Eredivisie on Sunday after a European setback. The Amsterdam side travel to face FC Groningen at the Hitachi Capital Mobility Stadion, with kick-off at 16:45.
The match follows a 2-1 defeat away to HNK Hajduk Split in the Europa Conference League on Thursday. Davy Klaassen scored the equaliser in the 53rd minute assisted by Thilo Kehrer, but the Croatians quickly retook the lead through goals from A. Sanyang and M. Soticek. They trail leaders Feyenoord by five points, while the team has scored 22 goals and conceded ten this season.
Recent form has been mixed. After two league wins came draws against Excelsior and NEC Nijmegen, preceding the European loss. Tolu Arokodare was the scorer against NEC in the seventh minute. The Nigerian striker is the club's current top scorer with four goals in seven appearances. The last five matches in all competitions have yielded two wins, two draws and one loss.
Groningen approach the game with confidence. The northerners won 5-1 at Excelsior last Sunday. They have taken seven points from their last three league matches. The home side sit sixth, just one point behind Ajax. The next fixture is away to Groningen on Sunday 18 October.
For the trip to Groningen, Ajax can rely on the same core that started on Thursday. Marc-André ter Stegen is in goal, with a defence of Thilo Kehrer, Aaron Bouwman, Youri Baas and Jofre Torrents. The midfield is formed by Klaassen, Sofyan Amrabat and Julian Brandt, with Viktor Tsygankov, Arokodare and Abdellah Ouazane up front. The full squad is available for the manager.
The clash in Groningen is the first of three matches in eight days for Ajax. A positive result is important to keep pace at the top of the table.
