Sunday morning brings another local derby in the Eredivisie, following Saturday’s Rotterdam derby. This one tends to be a bit feisty. An important consideration for this one is that there are more ‘local lads’ in NEC’s team, which could well give them that extra edge when the game kicks off.

For Vitesse, they showed improvement in picking up a point at AZ Alkmaar, which will give them a confidence boost ahead of the second half of the season. Manager Phillip Cocu has been very busy  over the World Cup break and signing Nicolas Isimat-Mirin, a former PSV defender, is some smart business. Cocu has previously got the best out of the French defender when he was in charge of the Eindhoven club.

A year ago, NEC lost 4-1 in this same fixture, so I think with that in mind, we will see a very competitive match as they will be desperate to avoid a repeat. The local players always add a bit of extra spice, and I think Vitesse will be keen to build on their last game.

Both teams to score as a selection reflects the competitive nature of this match. Vitesse’s switch to a back four offers more possibilities going forwards, whilst NEC striker Landry Dimata looks to have finally gotten in amongst the goals for his new side. Finally, let’s not forget that influentual NEC playmaker Oussama Tannane is facing his former side on Sunday, too, as if any more motivation was required ahead of this one.

Belgium’s two best-known teams are both in crisis. Both Anderlecht and Brugge entered 2023 with a new coach. Although that has not yet proven a guarantee of improvement.

Brugge’s new head coach Scott Parker had a tough first assignment, away at league leaders Genk, who ran out 3-1 winners, condemning Brugge to a fourth winless game in a row. Brugge fought hard but struggled to create, and perhaps fought too hard with Sylla seeing red after a series of poor challenges. Despite the deserved sending off, Parker has taken the young defender under his wing in the aftermath, and has been keen to stress how his own playing style suits the club and its “No sweat, no glory” motto.

It is likely that former Anderlecht man Odoi will take Sylla’s place. Yaremchuk will come in for Jutgla who picked up an injury in training. Parker is in the unwanted position of relying on two wantaway players in Noa Lang and Andreas Skov Olsen to provide much of their creative threat. Both want to leave, either in January or the summer, however the club will hope the draw of a Round of 16 clash against Benfica in the Champions League will persuade the pair to stay until the end of the season at least. Whether this motivates or means they play more conservatively to ensure they do not pick up any injuries remains to be seen.

The situation at Anderlecht is undoubtedly worse than that of Brugge. The last five seasons have been something of a downward spiral and it has continued this season. Just this week, several supporters clubs’ have publicly called for the chairman’s resignation in an open letter. They are unhappy with the exit of several key players and staff as a measure to plug financial holes, especially when those who remain are doing so badly.

There will be no new signings for new head coach Riemer. He has already lost in the Brussels derby, 3-1 against Union, and been eliminated from the Croky Cup. There has been lots of rotation and the players have struggled to generate any chemistry.

We should expect a sloppy affair with both sides still unsure of their best formation and starting XI. The reverse fixture was 1-0 to Club Brugge way back in October, and that too was a poor game with few chances at either end. It seems likely that it will be similar here, and that goals will not be forthcoming.

Groningen are one of the Eredivisie’s biggest clubs after the likes of Ajax and Feyenoord. Usually sitting just outside of the top five, their traditional ‘big club’ status can do nothing to help them survive relegation, which is quickly becoming a very real possibility. Furthermore, they were utterly embarrassed on Thursday as they were knocked out of the Dutch Cup by non-league Spakenburg.

It is still unbelievable to me that the club hired a completely inexperienced assistant coach in Dennis van der Ree. What seems to have happened is that the club couldn’t secure the signature of highly rated Emmen coach Dick Lukkien, but as he publicly announced he is contracted until the summer, Groningen had to find a temporary measure. It may be too late though if the club goes down.

It should be as simple as Feyenoord turning up here, considering Groningen’s poor form. If they do, there will be no dramas and an easy three points. I thought they were bullied a little away at Utrecht last time out, but that can always be a difficult away game for the top teams — especially when they have a new head coach.

Arne Slot remains the best coach in the Netherlands at the moment, and I am sure he will motivate his players once more to get a win that will keep them top of the table.

We have seen Groningen beat PSV at home this season; however, that was down to a crazy five minutes, and one of those rare football anomalies. It’s great that the club from the North are giving a couple of teenagers a chance to impress in the first team, namely the talented defender Thijmen Blokzijl, yet their inexperience and youthful errors may ultimately cost them in their relegation fight.

Gent were soundly beaten 4-0 by second-placed Union in the Croky Cup earlier this week. Gent coach Vanhaezebroeck criticised the strikers at his disposal. Despite their success this season, Gent is without a real goal scorer. Depoitre is no longer the same striker as he was during his first spell at Gent, and being less mobile, he needs a smaller and more agile forward to play alongside, as does Hugo Cuypers. They could both benefit from a return of star player Tissoudali, but they will have to wait until at least March. In the meantime, the driving force for the team has come in flashes from wingers Hong and Salah. They have been the bright spots in recent months.

Since the World Cup break finished and Bernd Storck became coach at KV Kortrijk, Felipe Avenatti has begun to find the back of the net again. In the three matches since the break, Avenatti scored four times. He constantly puts pressure on the opponent’s defence with his length and heading ability, allowing more technical guys like Messaoudi, Gueye and Selemani to play more comfortably. With his two goals against OHL, the Uruguayan was important last matchday. Now, however, he up against Ngadeu, one of the strongest man-markers in the league.

Storck is known for his extremely tough training sessions. It will also be interesting to see how the group responds to this training stimulus. For now, the squad’s core is spared from injuries and they seem to be responding well.

The reverse fixture finished as a 4-0 win for Gent. This time it is unlikely to be so easy. The Buffaloes have been unable to score in the last 3 games. We can therefore expect a more even match this time, with a real chance of Kortrijk coming away with some points. Gent remain favourites with the bookmakers, despite their poor form, so there is great value in Kortrijk on the handicap market.

After a scintillating start to the day that will see Arouca travel to Chaves and Sporting take on crosstown rivals Benfica at the Luz, Sunday’s action draws to a close as Famalicão take on Porto at the Estádio do Dragão. Sérgio Conceição’s side ended 2022 on a strong run of form with eight wins and one draw in the Taça da Liga group stage in their last nine, only to slip up and draw 0-0 to 10-man Casa Pia at the weekend.

They would respond by thrashing Arouca 4-0 midweek in the Taça de Portugal via an early goal from Wenderson Galeno and a hat-trick from halftime substitute Toni Martínez, with Porto set to face Académico de Viseu – third in the second tier –  in the quarterfinals of the Taça de Portugal on February 8 and in the semifinals of the Taça da Liga on January 25, as well as Inter in the Round of 16 of the Champions League.

They have a chance of picking up more silverware and enjoying another deep run in Europe’s foremost club competition, but their hopes of repeating their Primeira Liga championship are growing dimmer and dimmer as time goes on. Porto sit seven points behind Benfica and one point behind Braga, having suffered defeats to Benfica and Rio Ave and draws to Estoril, Santa Clara and Casa Pia, and they’ll be looking to stop the bleeding and respond with an assured result against Famalicão.

João Pedro Sousa’s side have enjoyed a strong run of form as of late that has seen them beat Chaves 2-0 and Vizela 2-1 as well as defeat Leixões to book their ticket for the Taça de Portugal quarterfinals where they will play B-SAD, but I’m expecting that to come to an abrupt pause at the Dragão.

Porto can ill afford any more slip-ups as they look to cling onto their hopes of winning back-to-back championships, and they’ll be looking to bounce back with a strong showing at home against Famalicão. Toni Martínez earned a move to Porto in 2020 after scoring 14 goals and 6 assists in all competitions to lead Fama to an impressive sixth-place finish in their return to the top-flight, and whilst he has been unable to crack the starting line-up as of yet, he has nevertheless proved a reliable goalscoring presence.

He has reached the best figures of his Porto career thus far with 9 goals and 2 assists in all competitions, only bettered by Mehdi Taremi (18) and Wenderson Galeno (11) in Porto’s squad. After becoming the first Porto substitute to score a hat-trick since Mario Jardel grabbed seven goals in a 45-minute appearance in 1997, I would not be surprised to see Martínez get a rare start ahead of Gabriel Verón and lead them to a victory against his former side.