De Topper: Ajax & PSV battle to keep up with Feyenoord
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Every league has a showpiece event that fans tune in to watch regardless of the team that they support. La Liga has El Clasico, games between front-runners Barcelona and Real Madrid, and the Premier League has the Manchester Derby, the battle between prestigious club Manchester United and rising stars Manchester City.
Eredivisie has ‘De Topper’, the label given to regular clashes between Dutch giants Ajax and PSV Eindhoven. The name, which translates to ‘The Topper’ refers to the fact that it involves the two most successful teams in the history of Dutch football, who are more often than not battling to secure the Eredivisie title.
The meaning behind the name holds true to this day. The Eredivisie era has been dominated by the pair and only two other sides have claimed the trophy since Feyenoord won the 1993/93 season. Since Twente last broke their dominance in 2009/10, in 10 of the 12 matches played between Ajax and PSV, one of the two sides have occupied the Eredivisie top spot.
However, for the first time since September 2014, that won’t be the case when PSV travel to Ajax this Sunday. Instead, it is Feyenoord leading the pack, with Ajax and PSV taking up second and third respectively.
With Feyenoord on 39 points, Ajax on 36 and PSV on 33, the title race is still wide open heading into the winter break, but this mouthwatering clash could prove to be a valuable three points for the winner come the end of the season.
Despite suffering a disappointing 1-0 defeat against FC Twente in their last game, Ajax go into the match in better form. Prior to the loss, they had gone 12 games without suffering defeat, including 10 victories, notching up 28 goals in the process.
Although, PSV are currently on an impressive run of 10 games without a loss and have suffered defeat just once this season, against table-toppers Feyenoord. However, five of those games have resulted in draws, with three of them coming in their last five appearances, which has ultimately cost Phillip Cocu’s side the top spot.
A large part of their problem is their inability to find the back of the net. Much was made of their struggles to break down Russian minnows Rostov in the Champions League last week, yet the club should have seen that disappointing 0-0 draw coming, given that two of their last three league games had ended with the same result.
Both clubs would likely settle for a point going into the game, as they both look to keep up the pace on Feyenoord. However, PSV are unlikely to take anything from the game if they attempt to play out another 0-0 draw.
They are coming up against a side that have scored in every home game that they have played this season. In fact, Ajax have scored in all but one Eredivisie match so far, and with both Kasper Dolberg and Davy Klaassen on top form, goals are likely to come.
Current champions PSV have more than enough about them to give Ajax a game, but they need to find their shooting boots if they are to come away from Sunday’s encounter with points on the board.
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