In the 14th round of the Dutch top tier football, Roda JC Kerkrade will lock horns against Ajax Amsterdam at Parkstad Limburg Stadion on Sunday, November 25.

Roda JC Kerkrade

De Koempels are heading into the game on the back of a demoralising 5-1 defeat at the hands of Heracles Almelo on November 18.

Lerin Duarte gave the Heraclieden an early lead, which was cancelled out by Sanharib Malki in the 33rd minute. However, Duarte restored his side’s lead only four minutes later. Willy Overtoom doubled his side’s advantage in the 58th minute, before Geoffrey Castillion and Samuel Armenteros’ strike completed the rout for the home side.

De Limburgers have been struggling to compete in the highest echelons of Dutch football since the start of the 2012/13 campaign. Occupying the 16th spot on the league table, they have an overall record of 13 played, 2 won, 4 drawn and 7 lost.

Ruud Brood, Roda JC head coach, would be hoping that his side could turnaround their fortunes, and start grinding out good results in the coming weeks to finish as far away from the relegation zone as possible.

Ajax Amsterdam

The defending Dutch champions cruised to a comfortable 2-0 victory in their last league encounter, but they suffered a humiliating 1-4 defeat at the hands of Borussia Dortmund in a UEFA Champions League game on November 21.

De Joden have performed erratically since the start of the new season. Sitting at the fourth spot in the league standings, the Amsterdammers have dropped points consistently. They have an overall record of 13 played, 6 won, 6 drawn and 1 lost.

Frank de Boer, the Amsterdam giants boss, has urged his troops to put behind their abysmal showing in their mid-week Champions League encounter, and shift their focus on the upcoming league game if they are to defend their title successfully come the end of the season.

Head-to-Head statistics

Ajax have managed to claim wins in four of their last five meetings against Roda JC, while the remaining game ended in a draw.

Key Players

Sanharib Malki – Roda JC Kerkrade

The Syrian ace would be keen to help his side bag maximum points in the upcoming encounter against the reigning Eredivisie champions. With six goals already to his name, the 28-year-old would be keen to add more to his tally on Sunday.

Siem de Jong – Ajax Amsterdam

Netting five goals while setting up four more in 13 league appearances, the versatile midfielder has remained one of the most consistent players in the Amsterdammers squad. He would be keen to help his side in the upcoming encounter to secure bag maximum points.

Prediction

Both sides would be gunning to bag maximum points in this encounter. However, De Koempels’ poor performances against the Amsterdammers coupled with their abysmal showings at home put the defending Dutch champions as the favourites to claim all three points.
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