Eredivisie Predictions & Betting 21/22: Round 22

Every week in the 2021/22 season, Football-Oranje’s Michael Statham gives you his previews and predictions for each Dutch Eredivisie round.

• by Michael Statham
• Follow Michael on Twitter @EredivisieMike

Friday, 11th February

Heracles Almelo v FC Utrecht

Heracles, who have only one once in their last ten, now only sit one place above the bottom three – albeit there is a four-point cushion to Fortuna in sixteenth. Utrecht completed a comeback victory in their last match, beating Cambuur 3-2 despite going two down in the first quarter of an hour. Anastasios Douvikas scored twice and new man Henk Veerman was also on the scoresheet – going to show that Utrecht always play better with the supporters in the stadium. Stadiums are only allowed to be one third full in the Netherlands (despite protests from the Dutch clubs that they should allowed to be full), but Heracles will want their fans to give them a lift in a difficult home game. I fancy there to be a few goals in this one. 2-3

Saturday, 12th February

FC Groningen v Fortuna Sittard

Because of Groningen’s back-to-back wins, this game is now much more difficult for Fortuna – the hosts will be more confident. Fortuna earnt a victory themselves though last time out; they finally got the win their good play was threatening, and they kept a rare clean sheet too. I think they’ll fight for another result here. 1-1

Cambuur v PEC Zwolle

Cambuur boss Henk de Jong stated that his side’s ambition for the end of the season is to “finish as high as possible”. At the moment, the Leeuwarden side are eighth after their promotion last season, with players like Mees Hoedemakers gaining interest from Danish club Midtylland. I think that Cambuur will find it hard to creep any higher up the Eredivisie table now, which may mean they cannot reach the Europa Conference League play-offs after a great season. However, if a club who finishes in the European spots lifts the Dutch Cup (highly likely) then Cambuur will get a chance to compete in the end of season play-offs – hence eighth place could be an exciting ticket for one of the mid-table Eredivisie teams. PEC Zwolle have picked up seven points from the last available nine. The league’s bottom club continue their revival, but I think Cambuur will edge a game with some goals. 2-1

Vitesse Arnhem v PSV

Both Vitesse and PSV suffered poor defeats last weekend, with Saturday’s hosts now worrying about fading hopes of a top four or five finish, and the visitors letting slip their title aspirations. Both sides were also active in the last eight of the Dutch Cup in mid-week. It seems that Vitesse will put full focus now into their Europa Conference League run – the first leg against Rapid Vienna is on Thursday. Lois Openda will still be missing for this one, and with Vitesse looking so toothless in their defeat to Twente, this will be a low-scoring, frustrating affair for the Arnhem outfit. 0-2

Sunday, 13th February

Sparta Rotterdam v Willem II

It is now nine matches without a win for Sparta. Manager Henk Fraser is being criticised for losing his touch. The new signings were thrown in against Feyenoord, but they were defensively pulled all over the place in a back five including three players playing out of position. Whereas Willem II finally won a game of football following eleven defeats in a row – the 3-1 win over RKC was a good one. Thijs Oosting, signed from AZ, will prove to be a good signing; he played last weekend behind Jizz Hornkamp and the pair were responsible for Willem II’s three goals. Will that confidence be enough for another success away from home? Sparta are extremely low on confidence and I think this new-found cutting edge from the visitors will see them take another positive result. 1-2

Heerenveen v NEC Nijmegen

Two sides in mid-table who may both be pondering the likelihood of a run for the final Europa Conference League play-off ticket. I believe that NEC, who sit ninth, have the better chance of reaching that podium; their team is more settled. Heerenveen on the other hand have gone with Ole Tobiasen as their interim manager until the end of the campaign. For me, it would have been great to see them go more ambitious and bring in their manager they wanted for next season already. What we do have to enjoy in Heerenveen though are several new signings who will be key in 2022/23: Amin Sarr came off the bench for his debut last weekend, plus Thom Haye will be influential in the middle of the park. With NEC in action on Thursday night for their cup quarter final, I think Heerenveen will have the legs to win a tight game late on. 1-0

RKC Waalwijk v Feyenoord

RKC were going strong until their disappointing loss at the hands of Willem II last Sunday. Their cup quarter final with AZ will take some energy out of the legs for this meeting with Feyenoord, where you need some extra gusto to keep running after your illustrious opponents for over 90 minutes when they have the ball a lot. For me, Feyenoord are favourites for second place. They look less likely to slip up than PSV going into the final months of the season. Under Arne Slot, Feyenoord are in the ascendancy rather than slowly unravelling like Roger Schmidt’s men. 1-3

Go Ahead Eagles v AZ Alkmaar

Go Ahead certainly can’t fill the rest of their season with draws and defeats. They are slipping down the table, but they should still be OK. That said, it may get worse before it gets better, with games to come against AZ, Twente, Ajax and Utrecht. AZ know that it can be very difficult to break down the Eagles’ defence, so it could be a tight game on Sunday, but one that in-form AZ should still win. 0-1

Ajax v FC Twente

Undoubtedly, Ajax playing fourth-placed Twente is a big test especially after an extra mid-week fixture which Twente did not have. The Tukkers will have the bounce from their great run leading to a top three charge, but it is their higher quality opponents who will have most of the ball on Sunday. In this fixture last season, Twente sprung a surprise and beat Ajax in Amsterdam, and despite their juggernaut ability to pulverise their visitors almost at will, Ajax have dropped points at home this season already. Do I think Twente will be strong enough to earn a result on Sunday afternoon? No, I think Ajax will have a 2-0 type victory, where they’ll get a decent game, but they’ll still dominate possession and that will tell. 2-0

How has Michael done so far?

Week 1: 4/9 results | 5/9 betting tips

Week 2: 4/8 results | 6/8 betting tips

Week 3: 5/9 results | 6/9 betting tips

Week 4: 4/8 results | 5/8 betting tips

Week 5: 5/9 results | 7/9 betting tips

Week 6: 4/9 results and 1 correct score | 8/9 betting tips

Week 7: 5/9 results and 1 correct score | 7/9 betting tips

Week 8: 6/9 results and 1 correct score | 6/9 betting tips

Week 9: 2/9 results | 3/8* betting tips *-one void

Week 10: 4/9 results and 1 correct score | 6/9 betting tips

Week 11: 5/9 results | 4/9 betting tips

Week 12: 4/9 results | 4/9 betting tips

Week 13: 5/9 results and 2 correct scores | 5/9 betting tips

Week 14: 5/9 results | 5/9 betting tips

Week 15: 4/9 results | 6/9 betting tips

Week 16: 2/9 results and 1 correct score | 5/9 betting tips

Week 17: 5/9 results | 7/9 betting tips

Week 18: 6/9 results and 2 correct scores | 8/9 betting tips

Week 19: 3/9 results and 2 correct scores | 5/9 betting tips

Week 20: 3/9 results and 1 correct score | 2/9 betting tips

Week 21: 7/9 results and 2 correct scores | 6/9 betting tips