Ajax lost their first game of the league phase of the UEFA Conference League against Hajduk Split last week. The Amsterdammers produced arguably their worst performance of the season in Croatia in a 2-1 defeat.

However, they bounced back immediately, securing a commanding 2-5 victory over FC Groningen at the Euroborg on Sunday afternoon.

Ajax were poor in the first two games after the international break against NEC Nijmegen and Hajduk Split, but Michel Sanchez's side produced a much-improved performance against Groningen, and they will hope to build on it as they prepare to face Atalanta on Thursday night.

Atalanta currently sit 11th in Serie A with nine points from seven games. They have lost four of their last six games. Their most recent defeat came against AC Milan on Sunday, with Ruben Amorim's side securing a 3-2 win over the club from Bergamo at the San Siro.

Both Steven Berghuis and Daley Blind are close to returning to action, but will not be available against Atalanta. In his pre-match press conference, Michel said that he hopes they will be available for Sunday's game against Sparta Rotterdam.

Simon Adingra and Anton Gaaei are unlikely to be available on Thursday night. The same goes for Oliver Edvardsen. All three players did not train with the group on Wednesday.

Kasper Dolberg is also unavailable and will be for the foreseeable future as he continues to recover from a knee injury.

Caio Henrique is also not yet available as he continues to recover from a thigh injury.

In goal, Marc ter Stegen will start for Ajax. At left-back, Owen Wijndal will likely keep his place, with Thilo Kehrer starting at right-back. In central defence, Dies Janse and Aaron Bouwman should keep their places in the team after both players produced impressive performances against Groningen.

In midfield, Sofyan Amrabat will likely keep his place in defensive midfield. Davy Klaassen, who started on the right wing against Groningen, will likely play as the No. 8 against Atalanta to give Jorthy Mokio a rest. In the no. 10 position, Julian Brandt will start after the German midfielder scored twice on Sunday.

In attack, Abdellah Ouazane has looked impressive this season and should replace Oscar Gloukh on the left wing. Gloukh started against Groningen but produced an underwhelming performance. On the right wing, Viktor Tsygankov will come back into the starting line-up. Marcos Leonardo started against Groningen, and while he did not score, he had a solid game. Tolu Arokodare will, however, likely start against Atalanta.

Ajax predicted starting line-up: Ter Stegen; Kehrer, Bouwman, Janse, Wijndal; Amrabat, Klaassen, Brandt; Tsygankov, Tolu, Ouazane.