Groningen Vs Ajax: Preview, Injuries and Stakes as the Season Intensifies
The upcoming meeting between groningen vs ajax arrives with sharply contrasting momentum: Groningen are on a six-game losing run while Ajax are unbeaten in five matches but have managed only one win in that stretch.
What Happens When Groningen Vs Ajax meet at Euroborg Stadium?
Groningen arrive at the Euroborg having lost six straight Eredivisie matches, the worst form in the league over the last six matches. Groningen coach Dick Lukkien’s side last won on January 16 and have since fallen to defeats against multiple opponents, including a 96th-minute loss to Volendam after appearing to have salvaged a point. A recurring issue has been the team’s inability to protect leads: six of the recent losses came after Groningen had gone in front, highlighting defensive fragility.
Despite the run, Groningen sit 11th on 31 points and are nine points clear of the relegation play-off position, but three consecutive home defeats increase pressure ahead of this fixture. Ajax come to Groningen with an unbeaten run of five matches that contains only one victory; a goalless draw at PEC Zwolle ended a 15-match scoring streak and was Ajax’s first 0-0 league result since September 2023. Ajax currently sit third in the 2025-26 standings with 44 points from 25 matches, one point clear of NEC Nijmegen, keeping the battle for European places finely balanced.
Recent head-to-head form favors Ajax markedly: they are unbeaten in their last eight meetings with Groningen, with seven wins and one draw since March 2021, and hold a dominant overall record in the rivalry.
What If Ajax start without Ko Itakura?
Ajax defender Ko Itakura will miss the clash after struggling with back problems for several weeks. Itakura has not featured in the Eredivisie since January 24 and was on the bench for a recent match against AZ. The absence removes an experienced option from Ajax’s defensive pool; Itakura joined Ajax from Borussia Mönchengladbach and had previously played 59 games for FC Groningen, while he has featured 21 times for Ajax since his move.
Ajax coach Fred Grim has been critical of the team’s recent performances, describing the match against PEC Zwolle as a poor display and identifying clear areas for improvement: the need to score more goals and to become more dominant in certain phases. Grim also holds weekly meetings with Ajax technical director Jordi Cruijff to assess progress and is focused on getting better results from the current group. With Ko Itakura unavailable, tactical adjustments and defensive rotations will be a test of squad depth and of Grim’s tactical choices ahead of this fixture.
What If Groningen’s slide continues — and who feels the impact?
Groningen face additional strain from injuries to key players. Groningen captain Stije Resink sustained a cruciate ligament injury and will undergo surgery, ruling him out for the remainder of the season. Tika de Jonge is also unavailable with an unspecified injury, while Mats Seuntjens returned as a substitute in the recent defeat to Volendam. Those absences compound a pattern of surrendering leads and put emphasis on how Dick Lukkien will shore up the side defensively and inject energy into an attack that has not converted early-season promise into recent results.
For Ajax, the immediate question is translating an unbeaten run into consistent wins: converting draws into victories and rediscovering the scoring touch that had defined a longer run earlier in the campaign. For Groningen, stopping the defensive leaks and managing the aftermath of a captain’s season-ending injury are the priorities if they are to arrest the downward trend.
Both teams arrive with clear fixable problems and distinct incentives: Ajax need more cutting edge to secure a higher European position, while Groningen must stabilise results to protect their mid-table cushion. The outcome will hinge on which side addresses its weaknesses on the day — groningen vs ajax.
