Round 26 of the Eredivisie is coming up and Michael Statham continues to give his preview and predictions for each match. This weekend, leaders PSV travel up north to Groningen, whilst cup finalists Utrecht and Feyenoord face Frisian sides Heerenveen and Cambuur respectively.
- Follow Michael on Twitter
Friday, March 4th
ADO Den Haag v Twente
ADO remain a decent side despite back-to-back defeats. They came close to an upset in Eindhoven, but those games aren’t the ones they expect to pick up points from.
Fans may, however, be disappointed should their team lose again. Twente are not the team that were so easy to beat before Christmas though.
Five wins in a row is spectacular form. Although I’m sure fans won’t be thinking of that at the moment, with all the uncertainty surrounding the club’s future in the Eredivisie next season.
The players will remain focussed, they know good performances may find them new clubs in the summer if the worst is to happen.
Michael’s prediction: 1-1
Saturday, March 5th
PEC Zwolle v De Graafschap
It was a bad day at the office for PEC away at Cambuur. They had injuries, a red card and created barely any chances. The home side will hope to have a couple of players back for this one.
I thought De Graafschap were very unlucky not to pick up anything at home last weekend. They had plenty of opportunities to score, but like on so many occasions throughout this season, De Superboeren lacked that finishing touch and have been suckerpunched so often.
This one is difficult to predict considering a lack of knowledge over starting line-ups and whether or not De Graafschap will get that bit of luck that evaded them last week.
Michael’s prediction: 2-0
Groningen v PSV
Groningen had a poor outing in Twente. They surrended possession far too often and were guilty of ball watching and letting their opponents build play too easily around them.
Meanwhile PSV laboured to victory against ADO as they missed that cutting edge to break through a stubborn defence.
I think the champions will find it easier here. Groningen will come out to try and play in front of their home supporters, like always. This will allow PSV more room around the box, something which they exploit well when a team does not close the ball down well enough.
Michael’s prediction: 0-3
Heerenveen v Utrecht
Foppe De Haan’s men were lucky to grab the win last weekend. They had a poor first half but played a bit better in the second half. It was an inconsistent performance which rather summed up the Frisians’ season.
It’s a shame we’ve seen less from the two attacking Swedes lately: Sam Larsson and Arber Zeneli. But like the rest of Heerenveen’s squad, it’s young, will make mistakes and will show inconsistency.
Visitors Utrecht struggled to break down VVSB in mid-week. They will be mightily relieved in reaching the cup final though.
I thought Erik Ten Hag’s players were a little lacklustre against Feyenoord too last Sunday. Even though they were behind to the Rotterdammers for much of the second half, they created very little – that last minute chance aside.
Utrecht will be on a mini high but I fancy the home side to nick this one.
Michael’s prediction: 1-0
Sunday, March 6th
NEC v Heracles
Both sides come into this one on the back of poor defeats.
NEC still have problems in finding the net at the moment. They’ve scrapped the five-man defence and Christian Santos has returned to the starting line-up, yet they remain underwhelming in attack currently.
John Stegeman had a sore throat in his interview after the Roda whitewash. I don’t know if he was unwell before the game, but he did sound disgruntled with his players.
I wonder which team will bounce back better.
Michael’s prediction: 1-2
Roda JC v Vitesse
Roda’s 0-5 success was vital considering the good results of their rivals around them.
I admit I am a little surprised at how well the new arrivals have clicked under Darije Kalezic. Players have come in from several different leagues and have settled so quickly.
Vitesse suffered another frustrating match last weekend and fingers are being pointed at new manager Rob Maas. I think supporters have a point.
He is inexperienced and has been unable to get his team to reproduce the kind of dominant performances that Peter Bosz demanded.
It’s two wins in eight games for Maas, which is not great for a team that should be eying the top four.
Michael’s prediction: 2-1
Willem II v Ajax
Willem II played out their typical away day performance last time out. They defended resolutely and pinched a goal which they held on to well.
Although they will have to defend even better to keep Ajax out. Frank De Boer’s men were fantastic against AZ, Davy Klaassen and Arek Milik were the standouts.
The attacking movement has been improving a lot. Ajax are now a much more exciting team to watch.
Michael’s prediction: 0-2
AZ v Exclesior
Defeats to Ajax and Feyenoord will have definitely knocked AZ’s confidence. In both ties, their defending was not the best, unexpectedly due to Ron Vlaar’s errors costing goals.
Moreover, in both of those games AZ were slow to start and only got into their passing rhythm in the second half.
Can Excelsior still escape the relegation play-offs? It’s a tough question after Tom van Weert’s goals handed them victory over NEC, but teams above them such as Willem II and Roda seem to have too much quality at the moment.
A point here though would be a massive boost. They’re due a good run.
Michael’s prediction: 2-2
Feyenoord v Cambuur
Feyenoord look to be on the road to recovery – finally. Two wins in a week will have significantly boosted belief.
That said they are still far from perfect. In the wins over Utrecht and AZ, there were still questions surrounding the defending at times, plus Michiel Kramer is perhaps not Feyenoord quality.
It’ll be an interesting summer for Gio van Bronckhorst, that is if he is trusted to stay on as manager. He’ll have to make some changes to his squad if the Rotterdammers are to push for the title and compete in Europe next season.
For now, they have to beat Cambuur, which I can see them doing relatively easily. The visitors won their previous match but surely won’t have enough to trouble the home side.
Michael’s prediction: 2-0
How have I done so far?
Week 1: 4 results
Week 2: 3 results, 1 correct score
Week 3: 7 results, 1 correct score
Week 4: 4 results, 1 correct score
Week 5: 7 results, 2 correct scores
Week 6: 4 results, 1 correct score
Week 7: 7 results
Week 8: 5 results, 1 correct score
Week 9: 5 results, 1 correct score
Week 10: 4 results, 1 correct score
Week 11: 4 results, 1 correct score
Week 12: 3 results, 1 correct score
Week 13: 5 results
Week 14: 6 results
Week 15: 6 results, 1 correct score
Week 16: 4 results, 2 correct scores
Week 17: 5 results, 1 correct score
Week 18: 5 results
Week 19: 7 results
Week 20: 2 results, 1 correct score
Week 21: 2 results
Week 22: 6 results, 1 correct score
Week 23: 5 results
Week 24: 7 results, 3 correct scores
Week 25: 3 results
Think you can better my predictions? Tweet us! @EredivisieMike, or @football_oranje, or comment below with yours…
Follow
Writer/interviewer/YouTuber for Football-Oranje. Massive Dutch football fan from the UK. Follow me @EredivisieMike & subscribe to Football-Oranje on YouTube.
