Ajax continue their march towards another Dutch title as they welcome Groningen to the Johan Cruyff Arena for a Dutch Eredivisie clash. The champions are in good form at the moment and should have too much quality for Groningen.
The Amsterdam club prepared for the visit of Groningen with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Heerenveen in the Dutch Cup on Wednesday. Goals from Davy Klaasen, Dusan Tadic and David Neres were enough to see them progress into the final of the competition.
Ajax are sitting pretty at the top of the league and hold a six-point lead over closest rivals PSV. They have set the pace for much of the campaign and have looked almost invincible with just two defeats suffered all season.
Eric Ten Hag’s men boast not only the best attack in the league but also the meanest defence with just 18 goals conceded this season. They also have a solid record at the Johan Cruyff Arena and head into Sunday’s clash off the back of three straight home wins.
Groningen are also coming off a victory as they triumphed 1-0 at home against Fortuna Sittard in their last Eredivisie fixture. Paulos Abraham's goal five minutes after the restart was enough to earn them the win.
The result ended a run of two straight defeats for Groningen who are still in the running for a European finish. They are sixth on the table, seven points behind AZ Alkmaar in the final Champions League spot.
On the road is where Danny Buijs’ men have had their problems with just one win in their last five away matches. Goals have also proved hard to come by on their travels recently, scoring just once in their last three away matches.
How the bookies view it
The bookies have installed Ajax as favourites here with SBK offering 3/11 for a home win. A victory for Groningen is valued at 12/1 by William Hill while a draw is set at odds of 6/1 by bet365.
With Ajax often doing their best work at the Johan Cruyff Arena and Groningen unconvincing on their travels, I am leaning towards a home win here.
Head to head
Ajax often come out in top in this fixture with 39 wins from 54 previous matches. Groningen have been victorious eight times while there have been seven draws between both teams.
The champions have won five of the last seven meetings, but suffered a 1-0 defeat in the reverse fixture back in October.
Players to watch
Sebastian Haller has hit the ground running since moving to Amsterdam with five goals in nine appearances. BetVictor has the striker at 10/11 to score anytime while the first goal is valued at 7/2 by bet365.
Top scorer Dusan Tadic is also one to keep an eye on with the Serbian attacker valued at 11/10 in the anytime goalscorer market by Skybet.
Swedish attacker Jorgen Larsen usually carries the team’s attacking threat and is priced at 100/30 by betway in the anytime goalscorer market. He often has support from Patrick Joosten, who is valued at 6/1 by Unibet in the same market.
Anything else catch the eye?
Ajax’s attacking prowess means there could be some value in the goals market here. Over 2.5 goals is priced at 5/11 by SBK, 3.5 goals is valued at 6/5 by Paddy Power, who are also offering 14/5 for over 4.5 goals.
Given the minimal odds for an Ajax victory, a win/goals combination could provide some value with Paddy Power offering 7/5 for a home win and over 3.5 goals. A win/score double could also be worth a punt with bet365 offering evens on Sebastian Haller to score anytime and Ajax to win.
This Dutch Eredivisie match between Ajax and Groningen will be played on Mar 7, 2021 and kick off at 11:15. Check below for our tipsters best Ajax vs Groningen prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.