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Eredivisie Preview: Round 33
The Eredivisie returns following the midweek Champions League and UEFA Cup action and an exciting round 33 awaits...
May 1, 2009 2:34:09 PM
Sunday
Heerenveen – ADO Den Haag
NAC – De Graafschap
PSV – NEC
Roda – Willem II
Sparta - Ajax
Twente – AZ
Utrecht – Feyenoord
Vitesse – Heracles
Volendam – Groningen
The Sunday starts with the match between Trond Sollied’s Heerenveen and ADO Den Haag. The former have already secured Europa League football for next season and will focus on the KNVB Beker final halfway May. ADO are still battling against relegation and will be looking to take advantage of the fact that Heerenveen have nothing left to play for. They lost last week’s match against Feyenoord 3-2, but need to do better on Sunday to stay clear of the drop zone.
NAC picked up the full three points in last week’s match against NEC and are sitting seventh on the table at the moment. They could very well use three more points in order to qualify for the end of season play-offs though and will be eager to beat De Graafschap. However, the Doetinchem side are sitting last on the table and desperately need a win to prevent the drop to the Eerstedivisie. De Graafschap will probably rely on young forward Luuk de Jong to guide them to a good result.
PSV and NEC meet in Eindhoven, the former can still finish second on the table, while NEC target a top nine finish. The hosts have been quite impressive in their recent matches and recorded five consecutive victories. NEC on the other hand are struggling to find their best form and have been abysmal ever since the winter break. Can head coach Mario Been turn things around and guide his side to an away victory?
Roda were unable to beat Volendam last week and recorded a 1-1 draw. They sit seventeenth on the table and need to grab the full three points if they want to leave the drop zone. Man to watch for the Kerkrade outfit is tricky forward Sekou Cisse. Tilburg outfit Willem II have nothing left to play for after last week’s 0-0 draw against Groningen. They will be keen to end their 2008/09 campaign in a good way though and won’t be a walkover.
Rotterdam side Sparta have a three-point lead at number sixteen Volendam following their goalless draw against De Graafschap with two more matches to go. Therefore, they still need one more win to be sure that they stay up. It remains to be seen though whether they will be able to beat Ajax on Sunday. The Amsterdam outfit target a top two finish, but picked up only one point in their last two matches. Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez will be the one to watch for Ajax, as he can still scoop up the Eredivisie top scorer title.
Steve McClaren’s Twente meet Eredivisie champions AZ in the absolute match of the week. AZ have nothing left to play for and will probably give several of their reserves the chance to shine. Stijn Schaars and Mounir el Hamdaoui are both suspended, while Demy de Zeeuw and Maarten Martens are likely to be rested. Twente will field their strongest XI, with both Douglas and Cheik Tiote returning to the starting XI after a one-match ban. Additionally, young attacker Marko Arnautovic is back after a spell on the sidelines due to injury.
Utrecht meet Feyenoord in a crucial game in the race for a top nine finish. The Rotterdam side have been in quite a good form in the past couple of weeks and go into this match as favourites. Veteran striker Roy Makaay will be the man to watch for Feyenoord, as he helped his side to the full three points last week with a late match winner. Utrecht were heavily beaten 6-1 by Vitesse last week and will be eager to bounce back. However, they’re having trouble finding the net and Feyenoord will prove to be a tough opponent.
Vitesse recorded an impressive win against Utrecht last week and sit eleventh on the table. However, they trail the number nine by only two points and qualification for the play-offs is still possible. They desperately need a victory on Sunday though. Man in form at the Arnhem outfit is Brazilian midfielder Claudemir, who scored a brace last week. Heracles are three points clear of the drop zone following last week’s results and will do their utmost to pick up a good result in Arnhem. However, their defence needs to perform better than last week, as the Heracles defenders looked far from solid.
Relegation candidates Volendam face Groningen and will be keen on beating the northern side. Volendam are still battling against relegation, while Groningen will almost certain finish sixth on the table and focus on the playoffs already. The first encounter between these two sides ended in a 5-0 win for Groningen and Volendam will definitely do better than that now. Man to watch will be tricky Volendam attacker Dominique van Dijk, who started his professional career at Groningen.
Stefan Coerts, Goal.com
Heerenveen – ADO Den Haag
NAC – De Graafschap
PSV – NEC
Roda – Willem II
Sparta - Ajax
Twente – AZ
Utrecht – Feyenoord
Vitesse – Heracles
Volendam – Groningen
The Sunday starts with the match between Trond Sollied’s Heerenveen and ADO Den Haag. The former have already secured Europa League football for next season and will focus on the KNVB Beker final halfway May. ADO are still battling against relegation and will be looking to take advantage of the fact that Heerenveen have nothing left to play for. They lost last week’s match against Feyenoord 3-2, but need to do better on Sunday to stay clear of the drop zone.
NAC picked up the full three points in last week’s match against NEC and are sitting seventh on the table at the moment. They could very well use three more points in order to qualify for the end of season play-offs though and will be eager to beat De Graafschap. However, the Doetinchem side are sitting last on the table and desperately need a win to prevent the drop to the Eerstedivisie. De Graafschap will probably rely on young forward Luuk de Jong to guide them to a good result.
PSV and NEC meet in Eindhoven, the former can still finish second on the table, while NEC target a top nine finish. The hosts have been quite impressive in their recent matches and recorded five consecutive victories. NEC on the other hand are struggling to find their best form and have been abysmal ever since the winter break. Can head coach Mario Been turn things around and guide his side to an away victory?
Roda were unable to beat Volendam last week and recorded a 1-1 draw. They sit seventeenth on the table and need to grab the full three points if they want to leave the drop zone. Man to watch for the Kerkrade outfit is tricky forward Sekou Cisse. Tilburg outfit Willem II have nothing left to play for after last week’s 0-0 draw against Groningen. They will be keen to end their 2008/09 campaign in a good way though and won’t be a walkover.
Rotterdam side Sparta have a three-point lead at number sixteen Volendam following their goalless draw against De Graafschap with two more matches to go. Therefore, they still need one more win to be sure that they stay up. It remains to be seen though whether they will be able to beat Ajax on Sunday. The Amsterdam outfit target a top two finish, but picked up only one point in their last two matches. Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez will be the one to watch for Ajax, as he can still scoop up the Eredivisie top scorer title.
Steve McClaren’s Twente meet Eredivisie champions AZ in the absolute match of the week. AZ have nothing left to play for and will probably give several of their reserves the chance to shine. Stijn Schaars and Mounir el Hamdaoui are both suspended, while Demy de Zeeuw and Maarten Martens are likely to be rested. Twente will field their strongest XI, with both Douglas and Cheik Tiote returning to the starting XI after a one-match ban. Additionally, young attacker Marko Arnautovic is back after a spell on the sidelines due to injury.
Utrecht meet Feyenoord in a crucial game in the race for a top nine finish. The Rotterdam side have been in quite a good form in the past couple of weeks and go into this match as favourites. Veteran striker Roy Makaay will be the man to watch for Feyenoord, as he helped his side to the full three points last week with a late match winner. Utrecht were heavily beaten 6-1 by Vitesse last week and will be eager to bounce back. However, they’re having trouble finding the net and Feyenoord will prove to be a tough opponent.
Vitesse recorded an impressive win against Utrecht last week and sit eleventh on the table. However, they trail the number nine by only two points and qualification for the play-offs is still possible. They desperately need a victory on Sunday though. Man in form at the Arnhem outfit is Brazilian midfielder Claudemir, who scored a brace last week. Heracles are three points clear of the drop zone following last week’s results and will do their utmost to pick up a good result in Arnhem. However, their defence needs to perform better than last week, as the Heracles defenders looked far from solid.
Relegation candidates Volendam face Groningen and will be keen on beating the northern side. Volendam are still battling against relegation, while Groningen will almost certain finish sixth on the table and focus on the playoffs already. The first encounter between these two sides ended in a 5-0 win for Groningen and Volendam will definitely do better than that now. Man to watch will be tricky Volendam attacker Dominique van Dijk, who started his professional career at Groningen.
Stefan Coerts, Goal.com
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