🏏 Tue, 15 Sep 2026 20:00 CEST
Ajax
vs
Willem II
4-3-3 vs 4-2-3-1
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Match Preview
- This is the rescheduled matchday three fixture - both clubs still have that round outstanding. Ajax are fifth on 10 points from three wins, a draw and a defeat, with 14 scored and six conceded for a +8 difference, six points behind leaders PSV Eindhoven (16 from six) but with a game in hand. Willem II sit 17th on two points, with two draws and three defeats.
- There is an oddity to Ajax's season. Away from home they have won all three, 2-0 at PEC Zwolle, 4-0 at Telstar and 5-1 at Fortuna Sittard, scoring 11 goals in the process. At home they have yet to win: a 2-2 draw with Heerenveen in round two and a 1-3 defeat by PSV in round five. The goals are clearly there, so a first home victory of the campaign is the obvious target.
- Willem II, back in the top flight, have conceded 14 times in five games. Their home form has been brutal - 4-1 to NEC Nijmegen, 3-0 to Excelsior - with a 2-2 draw against Heerenveen the only return. The encouraging note came most recently: a 1-1 draw away at second-placed AZ Alkmaar, who have 16 points, which suggested a defensive block that can hold when the plan is clear.
- Ajax's goalkeeping situation is a talking point in itself. Maarten Paes, 28 and 191cm, starts after four seasons and 114 appearances as first choice at FC Dallas, with international experience for Indonesia behind him. Sitting on the bench is Marc-Andre ter Stegen, the 34-year-old Germany international who joined on loan from Barcelona in August 2026 and whose distribution has long been among the best in the game.
- Ajax's midfield mixes mileage with precocity. Julian Brandt, 30, brings a left foot sharpened over years at Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg, while Davy Klaassen - 33 and in his third spell at the club after Everton, Werder Bremen and Inter - provides the late runs into the box. Alongside them is Jorthy Mokio, an 18-year-old left-footed Belgium international who is a centre-back by trade, signed from Gent.
- The front three carries real quality. Oscar Gloukh, the 22-year-old Israel international wearing number 10, arrived from Red Bull Salzburg for around 14.75 million euros and can use either foot to unlock a low block. Kasper Dolberg, 24, is back at the club that made him after Nice, Sevilla, Hoffenheim and Anderlecht, with 56 caps and 12 goals for Denmark, while 34-year-old Steven Berghuis works the right flank with his left foot.
- Willem II's defence is a patchwork of youth and loans. In the middle, 22-year-old Maxim Dekker - a 190cm left-footed centre-back from the AZ academy - partners 23-year-old Finn Stam, on loan from Jong AZ. On the right is Hidde ter Avest, 29, easily the most experienced of the group after long spells at Utrecht and Twente plus a stint at Oxford United in England, and the man charged with organising the line.
- Their midfield is younger still. Uriel van Aalst, 20, is an academy product who has been trusted early because of a run of long-term absentees, and fellow graduate Per van Loon, 21, lines up next to him. Calvin Twift, the 183cm 23-year-old who has played for Volendam and Go Ahead Eagles, is the one asked to win the physical duels - how far they can compete there will decide where the game is played.
- The benches tell their own story. Ajax can send on Morocco's combative Sofyan Amrabat, a Champions League runner-up with Fiorentina and an FA Cup winner at Manchester United, Ukraine winger Viktor Tsygankov and 197cm Nigeria striker Tolu Arokodare. Willem II are not without options either, with Chidozie Obi-Martin - the 18-year-old who arrived from Manchester United after developing in Arsenal's academy - and 192cm 34-year-old Thomas Verheydt to call on.