Feyenoord v Sparta Rotterdam

Sparta fell back to square one in their Eredivisie relegation battle following their pathetic loss to Utrecht. It seems that this Rotterdam derby has come at the wrong time, with supporters returning to De Kuip to make a raucous atmosphere. I believe it could get embarrassing.
Feyenoord have had off days at home in their last two outings in Rotterdam, losing to Ajax and Vitesse without even scoring. I really believe the supporters coming back will boost a lot of the clubs this weekend, none more so than Feyenoord whose players thrive so much from the home crowd.

They had won 13 out of 14 competitive games at home (before those two losses) at home this season under new coach Arne Slot – a shock draw with RKC the only blemish on an excellent record.
To add to Sparta’s woes, Luis Sinisterra has returned from injury, plus Guus Til and Alireza Jahanbakhsh were back amongst the goals in their 1-4 win over NEC.
The sensible bet here is to go with a home win and Feyenoord to score over 1.5 goals, with decent odds for this

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FC Groningen v Go Ahead Eagles

Groningen definitely turned up in their last match; it was a much better performance in their 1-3 win away at Vitesse than when they were so feeble losing to PSV.
Outgoing Groningen boss Danny Buijs prides his side being tough to break down. He also has a player in Tomas Suslov who is leading by example despite his young age. The 19-year-old, who has just signed a new contract with the club, has been battling away in midfield in the same way John McGinn does for Aston Villa in the Premier League; Suslov is the engine room in this side. He will aim to win the battles against this well set-up Eagles team.
It’s highly likely this game will be low on goals. Go Ahead struggle to create many openings, hence why the Eagles swooped to bring back the once-wonderkid Evert Linthorst to the Netherlands. The home side will be pleased to shut their opponents out whilst relying on the likes of Jorgen Strand Larsen regaining his confidence

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Willem II v RKC Waalwijk

After so many defeats in a row, Willem II are getting to the desperation stage, and it feels like if they can’t get a positive result against RKC, then they look doomed to relegation already despite not even being in the bottom three!
In the final days of the transfer window, the Tilburgers picked up the (delightfully named) Jizz Hornkamp from Eerste Divisie side FC Den Bosch. The striker scored 20 goals in 34 games last season for Den Bosch, but has only netted five times in 18 so far in this, which is perhaps the reason why Willem II were able to sign the player, given that interest had cooled from other Eredivisie sides. It is creativity in general which Willem II are struggling with, not necessarily the lack of a potent striker, though Hornkamp’s style of play may yet give them a different edge in and around the box.
Meanwhile, what you see is what you get from RKC; they’re always unglamorous, and if you play better than them, you win. However, don’t expect an off-day from them, either, because they have got plenty of quality despite their tiny budget and reputation. 2022 has begun exceptionally well for them, beating Go Ahead, ADO (in the cup), and Fortuna.
In Willem II’s five home defeats in a row, they have only scored once, so there’s a lot to improve if they are to get a result here

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Ajax v Heracles Almelo

Ajax dropping points against Heracles is so unlikely. This will be one of those games where Ajax have an incredible amount of the ball and the opponents will hardly ever foray into the Ajax half. Undoubtedly, this is because of Ajax’s incredible quality, but also they press so high which enables them to win battles in midfield (or when defenders step up high to win tackles like Jurrien Timber does so superbly) and then quickly recycle the possession.
The Eredivisie leaders don’t really have to worry about one particular danger man in this Heracles side, such is the drop in quality from them this season.
At the moment, Ajax don’t have to worry about upcoming European games, but one bit of team news which will disappoint supporters is the six-week absence of new striker Brian Brobbey, which is particularly frustrating when you consider he was brought in to replace Sébastien Haller whilst he played at the African Cup of Nations. However, this won’t make a difference on Sunday because Ajax will be buzzing to play in front of fans again. Dusan Tadic has an impressive 14 assists to his name from the left wing and I can see Antony and Noussair Mazraoui working their magic down the right side too to the glut of goal-scoring midfielders that Ajax will rely upon to soften the loss of Brobbey. It will be too early to see Mohammed Ihattaren make an meaningful impact for the Amsterdam side, having just signed from Juventus.

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