Ajax is expected to make one clear change for Tuesday evening’s home match against Willem II: Tolu Arokodare is set to start, while Victor Edvardsen drops back to the bench. The predicted lineup also keeps Marc ter Stegen in goal and leaves most of the team that helped deliver the 1-5 win over Fortuna Sittard intact.
That matters because Ajax are moving into the Willem II game with a front line that now looks more settled on paper. Steven Berghuis is projected to keep his place on the right, Oscar Gloukh is favoured on the left and Julian Brandt is described as undisputed in the team, leaving the main decision in attack between Arokodare and Edvardsen. The change is not a minor reshuffle. Edvardsen started against Fortuna Sittard, so the predicted switch puts a different striker profile at the centre of the same attack.
The rest of the side points to continuity. Anton Gaaei is expected to keep his place in defence after first spending Ajax’s opening two league matches on the bench for 90 minutes before then playing the full distance in three straight games. Thilo Kehrer, Youri Baas and Caio Henrique are set to complete the back line, with Sofyan Amrabat staying in midfield and Davy Klaassen coming in for Jorthy Mokio. That selection leaves Ajax with a shape that looks less experimental than in earlier weeks, but still flexible enough to adjust around the forward line.
Viktor Tsygankov remains the unresolved piece. He was taken off after about 70 minutes against Fortuna Sittard and is not yet fit enough to start, which rules out the option of easing him back into the XI for this match. So while the predicted team is strong enough to suggest confidence after the 1-5 win, it also shows where the limits are: Ajax can rotate up front and in midfield, but not every player is ready to go from the start. The actual answer will come when the line-up is confirmed on Tuesday evening.
