- Ajax have won 3, drawn 1 and lost 1 of their last 5 games NEC Nijmegen have won 1, drawn 2 and lost 2 of their last 5 games
Ajax are the bookmakers’ 1.32 favourites for Sunday’s Eredivisie 2024-2025 clash with NEC Nijmegen, who are 10.25 to win at the Johan Cruijff Arena. The visitors will be grateful for the generous odds on offer, but it is difficult to see how they can avoid defeat. Ajax lead the Eredivisie 2024/2025 table with 74 points from 31 matches and a win here would move them even closer to clinching the Eredivisie title with only three rounds left. Francesco Farioli has done a brilliant job to get the club into this position after taking over in July and instilling a more balanced, pressing system on the players. The hosts are a proactive team with the ball, playing at a high tempo and pressing in numbers when out of possession. Their ability to combine in the final third with sharp, one-touch passing is what makes them such a joy to watch and they can always rely on Brian Brobbey to be a threat up front. He is the favourite to score anytime at 1.80.
NEC Nijmegen are a pragmatic side that will sit deep and try to catch Ajax on the counterattack. Rogier Meijer’s men are a well-organised team that are very disciplined and structured in their approach, but they are 13th in the table with 34 points from 31 games, so it’s clear they are closer to the bottom half than the top. Vito van Crooij leads their scoring charts with nine Eredivisie goals from 23 appearances and has scored two of their last six, but they will need a big effort if they are to cause an upset here. Magnus Mattsson is the creative force in the middle of the park and his ability to see a pass and play it with vision can be the spark for NEC’s counter-attacks.
Ajax are unbeaten at home in Eredivisie 2024/2025, winning 12 and drawing three of 15, and have averaged 2.40 goals per game while conceding only 0.73 at the other end. NEC have lost ten of their 15 away games, winning four and drawing one, and have scored only ten goals on the road. Ajax have won three and drawn two of the last five head-to-head meetings in all competitions and NEC are winless in their last two away games against the Amsterdam giants. Backing Ajax to win with a clean sheet looks the best bet here.
