Ajax v Bayern facts

First place in Group E is on the line when Ajax and Bayern München, who have both already sealed their places in the UEFA Champions League round of 16, meet in Amsterdam on matchday six.

• The teams drew 1-1 in Munich in the second round of fixtures – Mats Hummels' fourth-minute goal for Bayern cancelled out by Noussair Mazraoui 18 minutes later – and both have remained unbeaten to see off the challenges of Benfica and AEK Athens for a top-two finish.

• The draw with Ajax is the only game in which Bayern have dropped points in the section. The Munich club's five-game total of 13 points is two more than Ajax, meaning a draw in the Netherlands – in their 150th UEFA Champions League group encounter – will allow the German side to finish first.

• Ajax will finish top if they win.

Previous meetings
• Two of European football's most famous names, this will be the clubs' tenth fixture – and home sides have traditionally held the upper hand. Of the nine previous contests, six have ended in a home victory, with the other three matches drawn.

• The most recent encounters before this season came in the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League group stage, Bayern winning 4-0 in Munich – Dutch international striker Roy Makaay contributing a hat-trick – before a 2-2 draw in the Netherlands.

• That, however, is Bayern's only success in the last six matches between the pair; Ajax have won two in that sequence, most recently a 5-2 semi-final second-leg success in their victorious 1994/95 UEFA Champions League campaign.

Form guide
Ajax
• After beating AEK 3-0 in Amsterdam on matchday one and drawing at Bayern, Ajax then took four points off Benfica thanks to a 1-0 home success and 1-1 away draw. Progress was assured by a 2-0 win at AEK on matchday five, Dušan Tadić with both goals – the Serb has scored Ajax's last three goals in the competition.

• Second in the Eredivisie last season, Ajax are in the UEFA Champions League group stage for the 14th time, but the first since 2014/15. Then their campaign ended in the group stage, for the fifth year in a row; they finished third on each occasion.

• This is the first time Ajax have progressed from their section since 2005/06.

• Ajax's 2017/18 European campaign lasted only two ties, losing to Nice in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round before a 4-2 aggregate defeat against Rosenborg (0-1 home, 2-3 away) that extended their winless run in continental competition to six matches (D2 L4).

• However, Ajax are unbeaten in Europe in 2018/19 – a run of 11 matches. Before the group stage they beat Sturm Graz home (2-0) and away (3-1) in the second qualifying round and Standard Liège 5-2 on aggregate in the third qualifying round (2-2 away, 3-0 home) before overcoming Dynamo Kyiv 3-1 in the play-offs (3-1 home, 0-0 away).

• The Amsterdammers have lost only one of their last eight home fixtures in the UEFA Champions League group stage (W5 D2).

• Ajax have won 14 of their 16 home games against German clubs, the sole defeat a 4-1 loss against Borussia Dortmund in the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League group stage.

Bayern
• Having opened Group E with a 2-0 win at Benfica, Bayern followed the draw with Ajax by beating AEK Athens 2-0 away and at home; they claimed their place in the round of 16 by beating Benfica 5-1 in Munich last time out.

• Robert Lewandowski has scored in Bayern's last three European matches and, with six goals, is the joint top scorer in this season's UEFA Champions League alongside Lionel Messi.

• Bayern are unbeaten in their last seven away European games (W6 D1); the match at Benfica was their first clean sheet on their UEFA Champions League travels in 15 matches. They followed it with another at AEK.

• Champions of Germany for a record 28th time last season – with a landmark sixth successive Bundesliga title – Bayern are in the group stage for the 22nd time.

• The Munich club have reached the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals or better in each of the last seven seasons. They last failed to progress from the initial group section in 2002/03, although they missed out altogether on the UEFA Champions League in 2007/08.

• For the second year in a row Bayern's campaign was ended by Real Madrid in 2017/18, via a 4-3 aggregate semi-final defeat.

• Bayern have won four of their ten away games against Dutch clubs (D2 L4), including the most recent – a 2-1 victory at PSV Eindhoven in the 2016/17 group stage. That is their only win, however, in five UEFA Champions League visits (D2 L2).

• The German club are on a six-match unbeaten run against Eredivisie opposition, home and away (W4 D2).

Links and trivia
• Ajax coach Erik ten Hag was coach of Bayern's B team between 2013 and 2014, winning the Regionalliga Bayern in 2014.

• Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was a Schalke player between 2010 and 2017, scoring 82 goals in 175 Bundesliga appearances.

• Robert Lewandowski scored three times against Ajax for Dortmund in the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League group stage; the German club won 1-0 at home and 4-1 away.

• Has played in the Netherlands:
Arjen Robben (Groningen 2000–02, PSV Eindhoven 2002–04)

• Have played together:
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar & Manuel Neuer (Schalke 2010/11)
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar & Leon Goretzka (Schalke 2013–17)

• International team-mates:
Maximilian Wöber & David Alaba (Austria)

• Arjen Robben, Daley Blind and Huntelaar were all part of the Netherlands squad that finished third at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

• Serge Gnabry was in the Germany side that drew 2-2 with the Netherlands in the UEFA Nations League on 19 November; Daley Blind, Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong played for the visitors as they booked their place in next year's Finals.

• Blind provided an assist in the Netherlands' 3-0 home win against Germany on 13 October; Manuel Neuer, Mats Hummels, Jérôme Boateng, Joshua Kimmich and Thomas Müller were all on the losing team.

Latest news

Ajax
• Ajax's 15-match unbeaten run (W12 D3) in all competitions stretching back to 15 April was ended by a 3-0 Eredivisie defeat at PSV Eindhoven on 23 September, halting a four-match winning league streak. That is their only defeat of the season in all competitions (W22 D5); they beat Den Haag 5-1 on 2 December and were 4-1 winners at Zwolle at the weekend.

• Since losing to PSV, Ajax have won 13 of their 15 matches in all competitions, drawing at Bayern and Benfica.

• The Amsterdammers have scored 45 goals in their last 11 domestic matches.

• Ajax were 7-1 winners at Excelsior in the Eredivisie on 11 November, the second time they have scored seven goals in a game this season.

• Erik ten Hag's side have kept 18 clean sheets in 28 matches this season.

• Kasper Dolberg has six goals in his last eight league appearances.

• The 2-0 home victory over Willem II on 3 November equalled a club record for eight successive home clean sheets, matching the marks of 1971 and 2008. Den Haag denied Ajax a new record by scoring in their 1-5 defeat.

• Ryan Gravenberch – who had become the club's youngest player with his appearance against PSV three days earlier – became Ajax's youngest ever scorer at the age of 16 years 133 days with his Dutch Cup goal against Te Werve on 26 September. The teenager succeeds Clarence Seedorf, who was 16 years 361 days when he scored on 28 March 1993 against Vitesse.

• Ajax's new signing Hassane Bandé has been out all season after picking up a calf injury in a friendly against Anderlecht in early July. Joël Veltman has not played since suffering a cruciate knee ligament injury on 19 April.

• Hakim Ziyech, who has scored five goals in his last six Eredivisie games, missed Morocco's friendly against Tunisia on 20 November with a knee injury and has not played since, although he was on the bench at Zwolle.

Bayern
• Robert Lewandowski, who had made his 100th appearance in UEFA club competition on matchday four, took his tally to 51 goals in the UEFA Champions League, group stage to final, against Benfica; he is the seventh player to reach the landmark of 50 goals.

• Mats Hummels, Javi Martínez and James Rodríguez will all make their 50th UEFA Champions League appearances when they next feature in the competition.

• Bayern prevailed 2-1 at Werder Bremen on 1 December, Serge Gnabry scoring both goals as Bayern ended a three-game sequence without a Bundesliga victory (D2 L1).

• The Munich club have won ten of their 12 away games this season in all competitions, losing the others.

• Bayern were 3-0 winners at home to Nürnberg on Saturday.

• Lewandowski, who struck twice at the weekend, has scored 19 goals in 20 Bayern appearances this season. His double against Nürnberg was his 42nd in the Bundesliga, fewer only than Gerd Müller (55).

• Arjen Robben, who has missed the last two games due to muscular problems, announced on 2 December he will leave Bayern at the end of the season after ten years at the club.

• Thiago Alcántara (out since 30 October), and Kingsley Coman (24 August) were both sidelined by ankle injuries before returning as substitutes in Bremen.

• James suffered a knee injury on 13 November and has not featured since.

• Corentin Tolisso, part of the victorious France squad at this summer's FIFA World Cup, suffered torn cruciate ligaments in his right knee in the 3-1 win against Bayer Leverkusen on 15 September.

• Niko Kovač claimed silverware in his first competitive game as Bayern coach with a 5-0 defeat of his former club Eintracht Frankfurt in the German Super Cup on 12 August – the third year in a row the Munich club have won the competition following three successive defeats.