Eredivisie – Week 2: Preview and predictions

The second round of the Eredivisie is about to start. This week transfer rumours of Sánchez’ move to Tottenham Hotspur dominated the news. The deal came through at Thursday night: Tottenham pays € 45 million for the Ajax defender. FC Utrecht upset Zenit St. Petersburg in the first leg of the Europa League play-offs, but Ajax suffered a blameful loss against Rosenborg. The most interesting match is the city derby between Excelsior and Feyenoord. Last year Excelsior defeated their fellow Rotterdammers with 3-0.

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News

• Knee injury ends season of AZ-talent Calvin Stengs
• Vitesse-goalie Eloy Room signs for PSV after he lost his spot to Remko Pasveer, who went in the opposite direction
• Midfielder Anouar Kali (FC Utrecht) is out for several months with an achilles tendon injury
• Striker Robert Mühren joins Sparta after a disappointing second half of the season at Belgian Zulte Waregem
• Ziyech (Ajax) blames the board for the bad start of the season.

  ”It is frustrating that the team still undergoes a lot of changes when the season has already started. But that’s football: waiting until the first of September. It is a pity that nothing is learned from last year. Maybe it’s harsh, but it’s the reality.”

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Match of the Week: Excelsior - Feyenoord

Sunday features the city derby between Excelsior and Feyenoord. Last year, Feyenoord could have won the title in this match, but instead they couldn’t handle their nerves and lost 3-0. Both teams started off with wins over Willem II (1-2) and FC Twente (2-1) respectively. Excelsior’s squad looks stronger than last season, although they lost their top scorer Hasselbaink (10 goals) over the summer. Feyenoord is always vulnerable in away games, especially on artificial grass. Feyenoord manager Van Bronckhorst might even change his line-up, since for example striker Jørgensen cannot deal with this surface. There is a real possibility of point loss for Feyenoord as their game needs some refinement, but still they should be able to beat Excelsior.
Prediction: 1-2

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Predictions

Roda JC – Vitesse: 1-2
Roda did play a good first half last week at Zwolle, but Vitesse has much more quality and were convincing in the opening match.

FC Twente – VVV-Venlo: 1-0
VVV-Venlo will focus on defending the point. In the end Twente should come through, but it won’t be easy.

AZ – ADO: 3-1
Easy one for AZ. They played well against PSV and have more quality. ADO lost 0-3 in the first round and do not have the quality or form to surprise.

SC Heerenveen – Heracles: 2-1
Heerenveen did play well in the first match of the season against Groningen. They gave away a two-goal lead, which again showed their weakness: the defense. Heracles though defeated Ajax, but this match will be totally different.

Ajax – FC Groningen: 3-1
Ajax desperately need a good result and then Groningen is a nice opponent. Not that Groningen lacks quality, but away at Ajax they never surprise.

FC Utrecht – Willem II: 2-0
FC Utrecht is the only positive surprise of Dutch teams in the European leagues so far. They upset Zenit in the first leg and have a good chance of reaching the group stage. In general, Willem II does not stand a change in De Galgenwaard and I don’t expect Utrecht to be distracted by the upcoming second leg against Zenit.

NAC – PSV: 1-2
NAC and PSV are two rival clubs. NAC just got promoted after two seasons in the second division. They are a true ‘home team’ as their fans are great. PSV did win in the opening match against AZ, but AZ played better. Unless Lozano tears NAC’s defense apart, it could be a difficult one.

Sparta Rotterdam – PEC Zwolle: 1-1
Sparta suffered a 3-0 loss against their competitors in the fight against relegation. They need to revenge themselves, but that will be hard as their attack lacks quality and PEC almost always scores a goal.