- Market: Both Teams to Score - Yes is 1.45 with the bookies for Saturday's Ajax vs Excelsior Rotterdam fixture.
- League position: Ajax sit 5th in Eredivisie 2026-2027 with 10 points from 5 matches, tied on points with 6th-placed Excelsior Rotterdam.
- Head-to-head: The most recent 2 head-to-heads across all competitions between Ajax and Excelsior have resulted in 1 draw and 1 win for the visitors.
Excelsior Rotterdam can get at Ajax’s Achilles heel
Odds and market
The bookies are not giving much hope to Excelsior Rotterdam for Saturday's Eredivisie 2026/2027 clash with Ajax at the Johan Cruijff ArenA in the Netherlands. Ajax have 1.33 about the home side to get the win, compared to 7.2 for the away team and 5.6 for the draw. That's a fair reflection of the difference in the quality of each club, but there are more than enough factors to make an alternative market a far more attractive bet here.
Form and tactics
Excelsior are no underdogs in form with 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat from their last 5 fixtures, while Ajax are in equally good shape with 4 wins and 1 defeat from their previous 5.
Ruben den Uil's men play an exciting brand of high-tempo 4-3-3 soccer where they will press opponents to get the ball back and then look to play it through the thirds as quickly as possible. The visitors have been in great shape on the road in the Eredivisie 2026/2027, remaining undefeated in 3 matches (W2, D1). Excelsior have scored an average of 3.00 goals and conceded an average of just 0.67 away from home, so they should be licking their lips at the prospect of playing on the counter-attack against an Ajax side that likes to build from the back.
Ajax have a small wobble at home in the Eredivisie 2026-2027
Ajax have had a similar start to the season, sitting 5th with 10 points from 5 fixtures, which is the same as Excelsior on points but they are ahead in the standings.
Michel has been getting his Ajax side to play a possession-first, positional system with a lot of patient build-up in their own half, and selective high pressing when it is on to make their mark.
The hosts have been shaky at home this season, drawing 1 and losing 1 of their 2 home matches in the Eredivisie 2026/2027, conceding 5 goals along the way at an average of 2.50 per match. They have won 3 of their 5 matches.
This will be a fascinating matchup between a control-based Ajax team and a more transition-based Excelsior outfit. The hosts have the talent to pull it out, but the away side have the form and the history to suggest they can be competitive. Both Teams to Score – Yes is 1.45 with the bookies for this game and is our main selection.
- Tolu Arokodare is the main threat for Ajax with 2 goals in 4 Eredivisie 2026/2027 fixtures.
- David Garden is top scorer for Excelsior with 3 goals in 5 league appearances, while Irakli Yegoian has provided 4 assists in the same number of fixtures.
