Round eleven of the Eredivisie is this weekend and Michael Statham continues to provide his preview and predictions for each match.

eredFriday, October 30

Heracles v Willem II

Whilst Heracles are only four points off the top of the table, they didn’t convince me in their victory over De Graafschap.

They were bullied by the basement team but still managed to grab a goal towards the end of the game.

Finally Richairo Zivkovic is scoring goals again – a massive boost for Willem II given their goal-scoring woes this campaign.

He already appeared a much more confident man in his post-match interview after the game against Heerenveen. He then went on to net for The Tilburgers in the cup in midweek too.

I fancy a surprise result here as Heracles seem to have hit their peak already this season and Willem II will fight for a win they desperately need to change their fortunes.

Prediction: 0-1

Saturday, October 31

Groningen v PEC Zwolle

Groningen achieved their first goal and point on the road in the Eredivisie last weekend. Perhaps they were a little unlucky not to have all three points.

Danny Hoesen is getting better each weekend as his confidence grows. Erwin van de Looi’s men need that extra goal threat instead of relying on midfielders to score goals all the time.

I thought PEC were unlucky not to beat Utrecht last Friday, yet they lost for the fourth time in five games in all competitions.

Zwolle, in my opinion, are in no real danger of slipping down the table, and Ron Jans will have his team winning games again very soon.

Although I will back Groningen to continue their nice little run of form that they are developing.

Prediction: 2-1

Excelsior v Vitesse

Excelsior have ground out some good results in recent games. They are a neat and tidy team who are improving defensively as well as up front.

Unfairly, I keep saying with Excelsior that I don’t think they will get anything from each game. That is because of the limited resources at the club, hence why Fons Groenendijk is doing such a good job.

Although Excelsior did lose to amateur side Excelsior ’31 midweek. Groenendijk will expect a response after calling the defeat the “biggest disgrace” of his career.

Vitesse more than matched Ajax last Sunday yet they couldn’t hold on to their lead that they had worked so hard for. In the end they were punished as each mistake was made towards the end of the match.

For me they have enough firepower to beat the Rotterdammers, but I think the home side will find a way to grind out another result.

Prediction: 1-1

Ajax v Roda JC

Ajax fought back superbly to deny Vitesse. Although they disappointingly lost out in the KNVB Beker to Feyenoord on Wednesday.

Frank De Boer labelled his side’s first half in the Beker as the “best first half of football” he has seen from his team this season.

He will need this improvement to continue in the coming weeks to remain top of the Eredivisie and to progress in Europe.

Roda are without a league win in six games and scraped through in the cup after beating FC Lienden on penalties.

They remain a solid side and can be considered unfortunate not to have turned a couple of their recent draws into wins.

I don’t think they have enough to get anything in Amsterdam though.

Prediction: 4-0

De Graafschap v PSV

De Graafschap are still fighting. Had right-back Nathaniel Will buried one of his many chances last weekend then I would have been talking about a first win for the bottom side.

They now face PSV who returned to winning ways against Twente.

The way to beat PSV as a lesser side is to attack them, as was displayed by Heracles, a team who dared to have a go at the Champions and succeeded.

However the home side’s defence is still very shaky and under heavy PSV pressure could crumble very quickly.

Prediction: 1-4

Sunday, November 1

ADO den Haag v Feyenoord

Édouard Duplan picked up his sixth assist last weekend and Mike Havenaar headed in his seventh goal of the season – a combination that is working very well.

Whilst in attack things seem rosy, in defence ADO are leaking on average more than two goals a game.

Dirk Kuyt’s is on fire at the moment with six goals in two games making him the league’s top scorer with ten. That said, some of his goals have been lucky and four of them penalties.

Feyenoord are joint top of the table for a reason, they have improved massively since last season and now look ready for a title push. Winning games like this one are necessary to sustain that.

I could easily go for a draw here, but ADO are winless at home this campaign and Feyenoord’s attacking players will bully a fragile home defence.

Prediction: 1-2

Utrecht v Twente

As I mentioned above, Utrecht were in my opinion fortunate to beat PEC last weekend despite being a very organised side on the day to nullify Zwolle’s attacking players.

Sebastien Haller also continues to score important goals for his team.

In the end Twente didn’t have enough to get anything from their meeting with PSV. Their youngest line-up ever in the Eredivisie became jaded from working so hard throughout the game.

If Twente can work as hard, I think they will grab a win in Utrecht.

Prediction: 1-2

Heerenveen v Cambuur

I think the result of this game largely depends on the fitness of Bartholomew Ogbeche, who has been so important for Cambuur.

However he limped off again last weekend, a major concern for the away side.

Managerless (and boardless) Heerenveen played well against Willem II. Their defence is still their achilles heel as it is leaking far too often, especially from the full-back areas.

Sam Larsson looks like he is finding his magic feet again following his outstanding creative display in Tilburg. Him and Veerman accompanied by Slagveer looks like a nice trio of attackers if they play to each other’s strengths.

Henk Veerman is a target man so if the team can put crosses into him, they will score goals, like I have mentioned in the past. Now they have begun to do that, Veerman looks a good striker, hence his headed goal in the cup.

Prediction: 2-0

AZ v NEC Nijmegen

AZ gave Feyenoord a good game in De Kuip but were undone by a quality attacking display.

If we see a return to the pulsating, attacking AZ we have seen in weeks previously, then they could blow NEC away, but that kind of energised performance is not produced consistently enough.

The visitors are currently seventh and look comfortable playing in the Eredivisie now after a barren spell of goals in the opening weeks.

I think they will pick up another point in Alkmaar.

Prediction: 1-1

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

Think you can better my predictions? Please continue to comment below or tweet @EredivisieMike or @football_oranje with yours…




Michael Statham (802 Posts)

Writer/interviewer/YouTuber for Football-Oranje. Massive Dutch football fan from the UK. Follow me @EredivisieMike & subscribe to Football-Oranje on YouTube.