🏏 Sun, 14 Dec 2025 14:30 CET
Ajax
vs
Feyenoord
Positions estimated vs 4-3-3 ※ estimated
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- De Klassieker arrives with three Japan internationals in the starting elevens. Feyenoord lead the line with national-team striker Ayase Ueda, 27 and 182cm, while Ajax's back line features fellow Japan international Ko Itakura, 28 and 188cm. Ueda thrives on runs in behind and sharp movement inside the box; Itakura is famously hard to beat one-on-one. Two men who line up together for their country face off directly here.
- Feyenoord have a Japan international centre-back of their own. Tsuyoshi Watanabe, 28 and 184cm, worked his way through FC Tokyo, Kortrijk and Gent, where he made 100 competitive appearances and took the captain's armband. His hang time in the air and his shot-blocking inside the area make him the man charged with clearing Ajax's deliveries.
- Feyenoord set up in a 4-3-3 with Watanabe partnered by 190cm Bosnia-Herzegovina international Anel Ahmedhodzic, who helped Sheffield United win promotion to the Premier League and scored 12 goals in 114 games there. Ajax centre-forward Kasper Dolberg mixes hold-up play with runs in behind, so how often this pair stop him turning is a central question.
- Both Feyenoord wingers are inverted, meaning they hunt the inside channels rather than the touchline. On the left is 19-year-old Leo Sauer, right-footed at 184cm and already a Slovakia senior international; on the right is left-footed Algeria international Anis Hadj-Moussa, 23 and 176cm, who earned a five-year deal in Rotterdam after making his name on loan at Vitesse. Ajax's full-backs must decide how far to tuck in.
- The midfield battle is a study in contrasts. Feyenoord pair Luciano Valente, 26, signed from FC Groningen for around seven million euros and capped by the Netherlands setup, with 186cm Morocco international Oussama Targhalline, 23, a former Marseille and Le Havre man. Ajax answer with 32-year-old Davy Klaassen in his third spell at the club, 22-year-old Youri Regeer, re-signed from FC Twente via a buy-back clause, and two-footed 17-year-old Sean Steur.
- Ajax's front line carries real quality. Number 10 Oscar Gloukh joined from Red Bull Salzburg for roughly 14.75 million euros and is an Israel international who threads final balls with either foot. On the left, 20-year-old Mika Godts has racked up 12 goals and nine assists in 21 games this season. Containing that pair falls to Feyenoord left-back Gijs Smal and academy-raised right-back Bart Nieuwkoop.
- Ajax hand a start to 18-year-old centre-back Aaron Bouwman, a 188cm defender whose physical duelling has drawn Virgil van Dijk comparisons and who only made his senior bow with Jong Ajax in 2024-25. Alongside, left-back Owen Wijndal arrived for about ten million euros after 143 appearances for AZ Alkmaar. How that line, Itakura included, calibrates its depth against Ueda's runs will shape the game.
- The benches are stacked too. Feyenoord hold back South Korea's two-footed holding midfielder Hwang In-Beom, named player of the month in his first month at the club, Denmark's Casper Tengstedt, formerly of Benfica and Hellas Verona, and Australia left-back Jordan Bos. Ajax keep 17-year-old Belgium international centre-back Jorthy Mokio, 19-year-old Rayane Bounida and 42-year-old goalkeeper Remko Pasveer in reserve.
- The goalkeepers took very different routes here. Ajax use Czech international Vitezslav Jaros, 24 and 190cm, on loan from Liverpool and a league-and-cup double winner at Sturm Graz. Feyenoord counter with German keeper Timon Wellenreuther, 30 and 188cm, a Schalke academy product who debuted in the Bundesliga as a teenager and is at his best claiming crosses.