On Sunday afternoon, Twente will face Ajax at the Grosseau West Stadium. Both teams in this match are unbeaten in the early stages of the league. The hosts have won their first three league games, whilst the visitors have won one and drawn two of their first three matches to take five points.
Twente started their Dutch league campaign with a perfect start, looking to build on last season's fifth-place finish, which saw them reach the final of the league's Europa League play-offs on that occasion, before beating Sparta Rotterdam 1-0.
However, Twente didn't fare so well in their Europa League qualifying campaign as they lost 1-6 on aggregate to Fenerbahce, meaning they won't be playing in Europe this season. Joseph Austin may have been disappointed that his side failed at the final hurdle, but the new manager can still see a lot of positives from their season-opening trio of wins. Twente opened the season with a 4-1 win over newly-promoted Almere City before defeating another newly-promoted Dutch side, PEC Zwolle, 3-1 at home. In their last game, Twente kept their season-opening shutout streak alive with a 2-0 win over Ferendam, but they play their first big test of the season on Sunday.
Indeed, Ajax may be a little more challenging than Winter's first few opponents, but they may be a little disappointed with their early season start which saw them pick up just five points from their first three games. After beating Heracles 4-1 on day one, the Sons of God have drawn two consecutive games against Exeter Thuir and Fortuna Sittard, and have been very poor in their most recent games in the Dutch Eredivisie. Maurice Steyn's men should have taken all three points away to Fortuna Sittard, but they needed to rely on luck to even get a point in the end as the hosts missed a penalty in the 10th minute.
The only positive aspect of Ajax's start to the season is that, unlike Twente, they have managed to qualify for European competitions this season, as they beat Ludogorets 4-2 on aggregate in the Europa League qualifying round to reach the Europa League group stage.
Twente still have two players missing through injury, with Joshua Brenett still recovering from an injury that has seen him miss the last three games, while Mace Hilgers has missed the last two games. Austin is unlikely to make any major changes considering his side have won three games in a row, but Richie van Wolfswinkel could replace Manfred Jugard up front after he scored his second goal in the 2-0 win over Ferendam last time out.
Ajax's recent match against Fortuna Sittard was made more difficult by the fact that they had a number of players out with injuries, including goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli, who was out with a shoulder injury. As a result, Jay Gauthier could get the starting goalkeeper role, while Chuba Akpom could get the start of Brian Brobbey up front after the 21-year-old was injured in the last game.
SCORE PREDICTION: Twente 1-1 Ajax Twente have had an encouraging start to the season, but their fixtures have been kind of friendly for them, as they have met two newly promoted teams. As a result, we don't expect the hosts to make it four wins in a row this weekend, but considering Ajax's slow start to the season, they may have the strength to get a draw.
