Eredivisie Midweek Preview: Round 21

Tuesday,  February 3

20:00 Vitesse – Heerenveen
20:00 Willem II – Volendam
20:15 Ajax – Heracles Almelo

Wednesday,  February 4

19:00 Twente – NAC Breda                                     

Thursday February 5

20:00 PSV – ADO Den Haag

Vitesse – Heerenveen

The Arnhem side grabbed four points in their last two matches and are slowly moving upwards in the table. They beat Willem II 2-0 on Saturday thanks to goals from Mads Junker and Ricky van Wolfswinkel. Vitesse currently sit fifteenth in the standings with 19 points after 20 matches.

The guests recorded an important victory against Amsterdam giants Ajax on Saturday evening. Danijel Pranjic’s curling free kick proved to be too good for Ajax goalie Maarten Stekelenburg and Heerenveen won the match 1-0. They are the Eredivisie’s number four with only three points less than the number two. 

Willem II – Volendam

Willem II were beaten 2-0 at home by Vitesse last weekend and have dropped to tenth spot after a promising start to the season. Top scorer Frank Demouge hasn’t found the net for some time and will be keen to find back his goalscoring boots against Volendam.

Volendam managed to grab a point in the away match against NAC Breda, but they should have done better as tricky winger Bernard Hofstede failed to convert a spot kick. Volendam are still rooted to the foot of the table, boasting only 12 points.

Ajax – Heracles Almelo

The hosts are struggling to find back their best form after the winter break and have recorded two consecutive defeats. Groningen and Heerenveen both proven to be too strong for the Amsterdam side. They still sit second in the table but they have fallen nine points behind in the title race and can’t afford to make any more mistakes.

Heracles made a quite impressive start to the season, but their recent form has been quite poor. They were heavily beaten by Roda on Friday and have dropped to a position that sees them in mid-table obscurity. Czech striker Vojtech Schulmeister is the man in form for the Almelo side and is likely to start up front.

Twente – NAC Breda

Enschede side Twente could have gone second last weekend, but Utrecht goalie Michel Vorm proved to be unbeatable and prevented Twente from grabbing all three points. The UEFA Cup hopefuls are the Eredivisie’s number three with 41 points.

NAC Breda were unable to beat the Eredivisie’s bottom club, Volendam, on Saturday evening, instead recording a 1-1 draw. They currently sit seventh with 32 points after 20 fixtures. They’re being plagued by injuries at the moment and will be without Rob Penders, Anthony Lurling, Kurt Elshot, Tommie van der Leegte and top scorer Matthew Amoah.

Feyenoord – Sparta

The home side conceded a late Milano Koenders goal on Sunday and were beaten 1-0 by Nijmegen outfit NEC. Feyenoord’s league form has been abysmal and they grabbed only one point in their last three matches. Feyenoord are ranked 12 in the Eredivisie with 20 points after 20 matches.
 
Sparta played a good match against table toppers AZ on Sunday. Nevertheless, they were still beaten 2-0 by the Alkmaar side and boast exactly the same amount of points as their Rotterdam rivals, although they are one place lower due to an inferior goal difference. Sparta managed to win the first encounter between the two sides 2-1 and will be eager to beat their rivals once again.

Utrecht – De Graafschap

Utrecht drew their last two matches 3-3 and 0-0 and again confirmed their reputation of being inconsistent performers. They’re unable to find the net in one match, but are unstoppable up front the other time. They sit ninth in the table with 28 points.

The guests have lost their last two matches, but faced strong opposition. AZ and PSV were both too strong for De Superboeren. De Graafschap are the Eredivisie’s number 17 at the moment. Star player is Israeli forward Ben Sahar, who has found the net in all three matches he played so far. However, the youngster has seen two of his three 'goals' being disallowed.

AZ – Roda

Alkmaar outfit AZ recorded a solid 2-0 victory against Sparta on Sunday, despite a difficult first half. Strike duo Moussa Dembele and Mounir el Hamdaoui both found the net once to help their side to an important win. AZ are atop of the table after 20 matches and have gathered nine points more than second placed Ajax.

The guests defeated Almelo side Heracles 3-1 on Friday evening thanks to goals from Ghanaian defender Eric Addo and strikers Anders Oper and Sekou Cisse. The Kerkrade outfit are still battling against relegation.

Groningen – NEC

The hosts have won their last two matches 1-0 against Ajax and ADO Den Haag. Tricky attacker Gonzalo Garcia Garcia helped his side to the full three points on Saturday with his tap in from close range. Groningen are the Eredivisie’s sixth ranked side with 33 points. Top scorer Marcus Berg returns to the match squad after his one match ban.

At the weekend Nijmegen beat Feyenoord for the second time this season. New signing Milano Koenders gifted his side the full three points with a powerful header from about five yards.

PSV – ADO Den Haag

The reigning title holders were without manager Huub Stevens for the first time following his departure and beat De Graafschap 3-0. Star player Ibrahim Afellay scored twice, while new signing Ola Toivonen scored one goal and set up the other two. PSV sit fifth in the table with 35 points.

ADO Den Haag were beaten 1-0 by Groningen on Saturday, despite turning in a decent performance. The Residentieclub are sitting fourteenth on the table. They severely strengthened their squad in January with Timothy Derijck, Danny Buijs and Berry Powel and will do their utmost to prevent relegation.

Stefan Coerts, Goal.com