Fifth-placed Groningen sit one point and one position behind wobbling Ajax in the Eredivisie table heading into Sunday's gameweek-nine clash at Euroborg.

Dick Lukkien's men are unbeaten in four matches, winning twice, while their Amsterdam opponents are winless in three following Thursday evening's defeat to Hajduk Split.

Match preview

Groningen have won just one of their last 10 competitive meetings with Ajax, but De FC will fancy their chances of repeating last season's 3-1 victory in the corresponding fixture of 2025-26.

Trots van het Noorden have undeniably been streaky at the start of the current campaign, with two victories followed by a 5-1 loss away to PSV Eindhoven and a 3-2 home defeat against Fortuna Sittard.

Those results preceded consecutive draws against in-form FC Twente and Go Ahead Eagles, while victories over PEC Zwolle and SBV Excelsior have lifted Lukkien's men to fifth in the top flight.

Equally pleasing for the club's supporters will be their team's free-scoring performances, with Groningen dispatching Zwolle 3-0 before the hiatus to record their first clean sheet of the season before scoring five in Rotterdam to thrash Excelsior 5-1 last time out.

Those victories leave them well positioned to overcome Ajax again, having recorded a 2-2 draw against this weekend's visitors at Euroborg two seasons ago before going one better with March's 3-1 triumph to claim their first win in this fixture for six years.

Indeed, the travelling supporters may not be encouraged by recent events, with Michel's team making a disappointing start to their Conference League campaign on Thursday.

The 2-1 defeat in Croatia — Ajax's first since losing to rivals PSV Eindhoven in early September — marked De Joden's third consecutive winless match following draws against Excelsior (2-2) and NEC Nijmegen either side of the international break.

Having prioritised outscoring opponents at the start of his tenure, Michel has seen the goals begin to dry up over the last three matches: Ajax have averaged one goal per game during their winless spell after scoring at least three times in five of their previous six fixtures.

As such, it remains to be seen which version of Ajax emerges in the capital of the north this weekend, as De Godenzonen attempt to end their winless sequence.

That is crucial, as the 36-time Eredivisie champions already sit five points behind league-leading Feyenoord, who top the form table and could extend their growing advantage if De Joden slip up at Euroborg.

Groningen Eredivisie form:

Ajax Eredivisie form:

Ajax form (all competitions):

Team News

Travis Hernes, Tyrique Mercera, Elvis van der Laan, Malcolm Jeng (Achilles) and Rijk Janse are all sidelined for Groningen.

However, none of their leading match-winners are unavailable: Thom van Bergen and Brynjolfur Darri Willumsson have scored five goals apiece, while David van der Werff has already provided three assists, one more than the versatile Van Bergen.

Only Feyenoord's Gjivai Zechiel (nine), Go Ahead Eagles' Soren Tengstedt (eight) and Excelsior's Irekli Yegoian (eight) have registered more direct goal involvements than Van Bergen (seven), underlining his game-changing qualities for the hosts.

Ajax can rely on Tolu Arokodare to provide goals — the Nigerian has netted four times in the Eredivisie, including strikes in consecutive matches — although significantly more is expected from the supporting cast, with Oscar Gloukh and the now-injured Steven Berghuis scoring just one league goal apiece this term.

Julian Brandt and Davy Klaassen have admittedly scored four and three league goals respectively, at least giving Michel confidence that other players can make decisive contributions.

With Kasper Dolberg (ACL) sidelined for the long term, Berghuis unavailable and Adingra not yet fully fit after only recently returning from injury, the Amsterdam outfit must find alternative solutions in the final third to emerge from their ongoing slump.

Daley Blind (back), Caio Henrique (thigh) and Anton Gaaei are also unavailable through injury.

Groningen possible starting lineup:

Vaessen; Schreuders, Blokzijl, Rente, Hateboer; De Jonge, Clement; Van der Werff, Van Bergen, Ondrejka; Willumsson

Ajax possible starting lineup:

Ter Stegen; Rosa, Kehrer, Baas, Wijndal; Klaassen, Amrabat, Brandt; Tsygankov, Arokodare, Gloukh

We say: Groningen 2-2 Ajax

While Groningen are in winning form and should back themselves to secure another positive result against Ajax, the Amsterdam giants have suffered only one defeat this season, which came in De Topper.

As such, Michel's team are likely to avoid defeat at Euroborg, even if their recent form and European exertions mean we cannot back them to secure maximum points against Lukkien's free-scoring side.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.