Monday 17 April 2017 22:32, UK
Ajax's late Eredivisie resurgence has set up a crunch title game with PSV Eindhoven on Sunday, live on Sky Sports 1, as European glory still beckons for the famous side from Amsterdam.
Feyenoord have led the division for the majority of the season, with former Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt leading their charge towards putting to rest an 18-year wait for a title.
However, a 2-1 defeat to Ajax at the start of this month as well as a draw at PEC Zwolle on April 9 has left the Rotterdam club's position at the top of the table under threat from their Amsterdam rivals.
Ajax, unbeaten in the top flight in 2017, have partnered domestic form with their Europa League endeavours, seeing off Schalke in the first leg of their quarter-final tie to step closer to reaching the semi-finals of a competition they last won in 2010.
After thrashing Heerenveen 5-1 on Sunday, Ajax sit just one point behind Feyenoord with just three games to go.
PSV, meanwhile, have dropped points just three times since their last meeting with Ajax - a 1-1 draw at the Amsterdam Arena in December - with defeat away at Feyenoord in February leaving them at arm's length from the top two.
Sat third in the table, PSV are set to miss out on Champions League qualification unless they can close the six-point gap between themselves and Ajax when they face off on Sunday.
All this leaves this weekend's clash at the Philips Stadion, between two of the biggest clubs in the Netherlands, as a game which could have a title-deciding impact.
With the giant shadow of Ajax looming large over their Eredivisie foes, it is fitting that the name 'Kluivert' has intertwined a developing sub-plot that could have a final say in the outcome.
Justin Kluivert, son of Patrick, scored his first senior goal for his father's old club against Excelsior in March and has since put in a string of impressive performances in the red and white of Ajax.
Still just 17, the teenager's cross allowed Davy Klaasen to score the second of his double in the 2-0 first-leg win over Schalke.
Patrick Kluivert won two Eredivisie titles and a Champions League during his three-year stint at Ajax between 1994 and 1997, before switching over to PSV late in his career.
Justin Kluivert missed out being part of the side that crushed Heerenveen last weekend, but could be introduced to deliver a late twist in the tale in the Eredivise title race.
