Victories against Heerenveen, Fortuna Sittard, RKC Waalwijk, Groningen, Heracles, Willem II, both derbies against Feyenoord and PSV, PEC Zwolle, NEC Nijmegen and Sparta Rotterdam, plus draws against Go Ahead Eagles, Twente and Utrecht and defeats against NAC Breda and AZ put them in second place in the Eredivisie with 39 pointssix points behind leader PSV. With wins against Besiktas, Qarabag and Maccabi Tel Aviv, and a one-goal draw against Slavia Prague, as well as two defeats against Real Sociedad and Lazio, places them in eleventh place with ten points in the UEFA Europa League with two matches remaining and one point from direct qualification for the round of 16.
Ajax players depend on themselves to stay alive in both competitions. In the Eredivisie, even if the gap with PSV is six points, there are still 17 games to play. And in the Europa League, they are only one point from the direct qualification places with two days remaining.where they face Rigas away and Galatasaray at home.
Absent for this friendly match due to injury Gaston Avila, Benjamin Tahirovic, Amourricho d’Axel Dongen and Julian Rijkhoff.
