- 1 Ajax vs Heerenveen: first home test under the microscope for Michel
- 2 Ajax: sharp going forward, shaky at the back
- 3 Heerenveen: plenty of goals, poor away numbers
- 4 Football prediction Ajax vs Heerenveen
- 5 First, a word on our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information can change
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the images…
Ajax vs Heerenveen: first home test under the microscope for Michel 
The second round of Eredivisie action sends Heerenveen to the Johan Cruijff Arena on Sunday afternoon. Kick-off is set for 16:45 Dutch time.
Both clubs started with a win. Ajax eased to a 2-0 victory at PEC Zwolle, while Heerenveen beat Twente 1-0 at home.
For Michel, this is his first league game in charge in front of the Amsterdam crowd. The coach is still unbeaten in competitive action since taking over.
That run was tested on Thursday, though. The 2-2 draw at Shelbourne ended a seven-game winning streak, even if the 3-1 first-leg win was enough to book a place in the Conference League play-offs.
Historically, this fixture has tilted heavily toward Amsterdam: seven wins in the last eight meetings before the two draws last season. Those two stalemates are an outlier Ajax are keen to put right.
The bookmakers know it too, pricing Ajax at around 1.44, with the draw at 4.50 and a Heerenveen win at 6.50. Even so, the on-pitch gap has been tighter than those odds suggest in recent meetings.
Ajax had not dropped a point in seven games before the Dublin draw. That spell began in pre-season and carried through into European competition.
Heerenveen arrive without that continental grind but with the freshness of only one competitive outing. The workload gap between the two sides is real.
Ajax: sharp going forward, shaky at the back 
The stat that will worry Amsterdam is three clean sheets in 11 matches since the start of pre-season. For a club chasing the title, that is nowhere near good enough.
The 2-2 in Dublin backed that up: against opponents who were clearly inferior on paper, Ajax still had to lean on their first-leg advantage to get through. Michel now has 10 league days to sort out the imbalance.
Up front, the signs are much better. Julian Brandt scored on his debut, striking in the 95th minute against PEC Zwolle after Jorthy Mokio had opened the scoring in the 76th.
Steven Berghuis and Oscar Gloukh were quiet on matchday one, but both can turn a game on their own. Kasper Dolberg is expected to lead the line.
The injury list is still long: Josip Sutalo, Rayane Bounida, Ahmetcan Kaplan (knee) and Amourricho van Axel Dongen (thigh) are expected to miss out, while Daley Blind will be assessed after a knock. Mika Godts is also on the verge of leaving, with a move to Paris Saint-Germain close.
The European run has still done its job. The 4-1 win over Vojvodina and the 3-1 home success against Shelbourne got Ajax to the play-offs.
Michel has a squad used to playing every few days. The only question is whether the rotation demanded by Europe will hit their defensive rhythm on Sunday.
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Heerenveen: plenty of goals, poor away numbers 
Robin Veldman heads to Amsterdam with an attack in good order. His side have scored three or more in each of their four pre-season games.
The 1-0 win over Twente on opening day brought them back down to earth a little. Just the one goal, but three points and a clean sheet.
The issue for the Frisians is what happens away from home. Last season, they lost eight of their 17 away matches and managed only six wins in the league campaign overall.
Worse still, they failed to score in two of their final three trips of last season. A visit to the Johan Cruijff Arena is hardly the best place to try to change that.
Two players still carry the Frisians’ hopes. Dylan Vente, quiet on opening weekend, had come into the season with six goals in four games, while Jacob Trenskow set up the winner last week and has six goal contributions in five appearances. Oliver Braude and Mats Egbring will be checked before kick-off.
Last season, both league meetings with Ajax finished level, including one on the final day. Heerenveen know they can frustrate this team.
But those two draws were exceptions in a long run dominated by Amsterdam. Doing it again two seasons in a row would be a much bigger ask.
Predicted Ajax line-up: Ter Stegen; Rosa, Bouwman, Baas, Caio Henrique; Klaassen, Regeer; Berghuis, Dolberg, Brandt
Predicted Heerenveen line-up: Klaverboer; Petrov, Willemsen, Kersten, Zagaritis; Linday, Proper, Meerveld; Trenskow, Vente, Oyen
Football prediction Ajax vs Heerenveen
Our prediction: Over 2.5 goals in the match
Ajax’s defensive weakness is there in black and white: just three clean sheets in 11 games since the restart, including the 2-2 against Shelbourne on Thursday. Any side with enough attacking threat should find openings.
Heerenveen fit that description, too, with their four pre-season games all producing three goals or more. At the other end, Brandt has already scored on debut and Dolberg remains a seasoned finisher.
The last six Ajax home wins over Heerenveen in the Eredivisie have all brought a hefty total of goals for the Amsterdam side, which tells you these games usually open up. The smart play is on the goals.
The situation also pushes Ajax to take risks. After the Dublin draw, Michel has to calm the nerves inside the stadium, and that will leave space behind his defence.
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