🏏 Sat, 10 Oct 2026 21:00 CEST
Ajax
vs
NEC Nijmegen
4-3-3 vs 3-4-2-1
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- Ajax sit fifth on 14 points from seven games, with four wins, two draws and one defeat. Their goal difference of +12, built on 21 scored and nine conceded, is among the best in the division, but leaders Feyenoord are six points clear on 20 from eight matches, with PSV and AZ Alkmaar on 19 and Twente on 16. Dropped points at home are becoming costly.
- Ajax's attacking numbers stand out: 5-1 at home to Willem II in round three, 4-0 away at Telstar in round four and 5-1 at Fortuna Sittard in round six. The flip side is a 1-3 home loss to PSV in round five and last weekend's 2-2 home draw with Excelsior. Converting dominance into three points is the recurring theme.
- NEC Nijmegen come to Amsterdam 11th on eight points with a goal difference of -1. Their most recent victory was a 3-1 win at PEC Zwolle in round four; since then they lost 3-1 at home to Feyenoord, were beaten 3-0 at Cambuur and drew 1-1 with Go Ahead Eagles. Few fixtures look harder, but an upset would reset their season.
- The headline storyline is Dusan Tadic's return. Born in 1988, the 37-year-old Serbia playmaker won the Eredivisie and reached a Champions League semi-final with Ajax before spells at Southampton, Twente and Fenerbahce. He now wears NEC's No. 10 and operates as one of the two shadow strikers in their 3-4-2-1.
- Tadic is not the only reunion. NEC's back three includes 191cm defender Perr Schuurs, who came through Ajax before moving on to Torino, while left-footed Turkey centre-back Kaplan, 23, is on the NEC bench on loan from Ajax. In the other direction, Ajax start left-footed centre-back Youri Baas, 23, who developed on loan at NEC, and keep former NEC goalkeeper Maarten Paes among the substitutes.
- Ajax's goal is guarded by Marc-Andre ter Stegen. The 34-year-old Germany international came through Borussia Monchengladbach, spent more than a decade as Barcelona's first choice from 2014, had a loan spell at Girona in the first half of 2026 and joined Ajax on loan in August. His distribution makes him effectively an extra builder from the back.
- The Ajax front three mixes power and craft. Tolu Arokodare, the 197cm Nigeria striker who scored 20 goals in Belgium and won the Ebony Shoe, leads the line. Flanking him are Oscar Gloukh, the 22-year-old Israel international signed from Red Bull Salzburg for around 14.75 million euros, and Ukraine winger Viktor Tsygankov, a Dynamo Kyiv product whose left foot is his main weapon.
- In midfield Ajax blend experience and youth: Julian Brandt, 30, with years of Bundesliga football at Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen; Sofyan Amrabat, the Morocco ball-winner who has played for Manchester United and Fiorentina; and 18-year-old Jorthy Mokio, signed from Gent, who made his senior Belgium debut in March 2025. NEC's four-man band is anchored by 27-year-old Croatian Nejasmic, a Hajduk Split graduate.
- NEC lead the line with 36-year-old striker Linssen, a veteran who has scored in the Eredivisie for Feyenoord, Vitesse and Groningen and also spent time in Japan with Urawa Red Diamonds. At 170cm he relies on movement and sharp finishing inside the box, which sets up an intriguing duel with Ajax centre-back Thilo Kehrer, formerly of Paris Saint-Germain and West Ham United.
- If the game goes late, the benches matter. Ajax can introduce club icon Davy Klaassen, 33 and in his third spell at the club, Brazilian forward Marcos Leonardo, who has played for Santos and Benfica, and Norwegian Oliver Edvardsen, scorer of 26 goals at Go Ahead Eagles. NEC counter with 193cm Iceland playmaker Willumsson and Cape Verde international Jamiro Monteiro, a former Designated Player at Philadelphia Union.