http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/AFC-Ajax-c38228 Amsterdam vs. FC Twente Enschede: Sulejmani and Janko to star – Dutch Eredivisie preview
Two in-form Dutch outfits, Ajax Amsterdam and FC Twente Enschede, go head-to-head in what promises to be an exciting clash at Amsterdam Arena on Saturday, September 24.
Ajax Amsterdam
The reigning Eredivisie champions are coming into this match on the back of a 3-1 win over Noordwijk in the KNVB beker Cup.
Although the Amsterdammers managed to emerge victorious by the end of the match, Frank de Boer, De Joden head coach, was far from pleased with his side’s performance against a Dutch third tier outfit.
The Amsterdam giants spilled points in last week’s league encounter against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/PSV-c40281 Eindhoven at Philips Stadion. Consequently, they dropped to third place in the league table. They have an overall record of 6 played, 4 won and 2 drawn.
De Boer will be hoping that his troops put up an impressive performance against the Enschede outfit and bag maximum points in front of their home crowd.
FC Twente Enschede
The Tukkers are brimming with confidence following their commanding wins against Zwaluwen and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/ADO-Den-Haag-c38221. The outfit from Enschede gave an 8-1 thrashing to Zwaluwen in the Dutch Cup mid-week encounter and cruised to an easy 5-2 win at home against ADO
last week.
Co Adriaanse, the Tukkers manager, praised his side’s impressive start to the 2011/12 campaign. The Dutch trainer revealed that they still have a strong selection despite the departure of Bryan Ruiz.
“Ruiz was decisive, but we still have a very strong selection. No one has any doubt about the quality of our midfield. Moreover, we have Janko and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Luuk-de-Jong-c22956 up-front and another two quality players available to occupy the wings”
“The only man we are really missing is http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Theo-Janssen-c34871. This is one of the real things that we have to absorb”, Adriaanse said while talking to the media.
Head-to-Head statistics
For the past couple of seasons, FC Twente have made life extremely difficult for Ajax. In the last five head-to-head encounters, the Tukkers showed their dominance by winning three fixtures. The Amsterdam giants emerged victorious in one match – the title
decider last season – while the remaining game ended in a stalemate.
Players to watch
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Miralem-Sulejmani-c25985 – Ajax Amsterdam
Sulejmani’s impressive dribbling skills and ability to score goals, from range, proves to be a constant threat for any opposition. The 22-year-old seems to be in great form, having scored four goals in five appearances this season.
The Serbian ace sustained a hamstring injury in their Champions League encounter, but recovered rapidly to represent his side in this crucial Eredivisie encounter. His return to the squad will certainly strengthen the Amsterdammers’ attack pack.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/FC-Twente-c39233
The Austrian forward is in supreme goalscoring form this season. He has netted an impressive seven goals, not to forget two valuable assists, in six appearances.
Although De Joden back-line is regarded as one of the strongest in Dutch top tier, they still have to be on the top of their game to restrict the talismanic Austrian striker from hitting the back of the net.
Prediction
It will be an exciting encounter to watch between two of the best teams in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Netherlands-c753. Both sides are in impressive form, but the home crowd advantage puts Ajax as favourites to secure all three points.
The match will end in a 2-1 win in favour of the Amsterdammers.
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