After Emmen spectacularly beat PSV 1-0, following it up with such a timid display was not expected, as they lost 2-0 to mid-table RKC Waalwijk. It was back to being flat all over the pitch. Emmen lacked inspiration in attack, and they are just not solid enough at the back.

Vitesse meanwhile have been playing much better lately. A gritty draw with high-flying AZ, a narrow defeat away at PSV and a strong attacking performance in a draw with Twente – both after the Winter break – showed us that Vitesse are not there to be rolled over any more under new boss Phillip Cocu.

Cocu initially struggled in his first month in charge but beat Heerenveen in the last game to round off a brilliant January, which also saw them sign up the likes of Nicolas Isimat-Mirin, Davy Propper and Marco van Ginkel. The new signings will help to breathe life back into the club by bringing in big names who have either worked with Cocu before when he was at PSV or bringing familiar faces back to the Arnhem club.

There’s a feel-good factor about Vitesse at the moment; it’s a matter of time before they climb the table.

Taylor Booth is becoming quite the key player for Utrecht. From the right wing, he created a lot of openings in last weekend’s marvellously entertaining 5-5 draw with AZ. Greek striker Tasos Douvikas scored a hat trick in that game, so we’re now expecting more goals from this side still in its infancy under Michael Silberbauer.

They are creating lots more openings with balls fired into forward players where they like to make a quick flick or a pass to bypass the defensive line and deliver a shot or a cross. The game before AZ was a 1-0 win over Excelsior, but Utrecht really should have buried at least another two goals.

On the other hand, we’ve got a Heerenveen side that didn’t look good when losing to Vitesse. They have just sold Swedish forward Amin Sarr to Lyon, too, though it was a very good fee for the club.

With The Netherlands World Cup goalkeeper Andries Noppert out injured and more mistakes creeping into the Heerenveen back four, all of a sudden, the Frisians’ defence doesn’t look so solid. I would be very surprised if this isn’t a home win.

St. Gallen have had a frustrating return to action following the winter break. In their 1-1 draw with FC Basel two weeks ago, FCSG had opened the scoring, were pegged back, played with a man extra for over half an hour and missed a penalty as an inspired display from Marwin Hitz denied them what would’ve been a deserved victory. A trip to the Letzigrund against Zurich last weekend looked set to end with a creditable point before an own-goal in added time gave der Stadtclub all three instead. Peter Zeidler is doing good things with this team and has them up in fourth, but with only two wins from their last eleven, FCSG aren’t turning draws into victory and have also had disappointing slip-ups away from home.

Servette are just a point ahead of St. Gallen and were also left cursing themselves after they let slip a two-goal home lead in the derby against ten-man FC Sion in Geneva. SFC have called for an investigation into a pyrotechnics display from the Sion fans that disrupted the game, claiming it halted their momentum and allowed the visitors back into the game, but Servette fans will know that not seeing the game out from the commanding position they were in. It has still been a terrific season to date for the Genevans but they have only one win in nine and are struggling to find the form that has them in the race for the Champions League spots.

Neither of these sides are in particularly strong form. St. Gallen are the second-best home side in the league though and come up against an SFC team that have only two away victories, both against teams fifth or lower. St. Gallen also score almost two per game at home while Servette have just eight away games, only one more than the sides in the relegation places. I would take FCSG draw no bet.