Every week in the 2023/24 season, Football-Oranje’s Michael Statham gives you his previews and predictions for each Dutch Eredivisie round.
- by Michael Statham
- Follow Michael on X @EredivisieMike
Friday, 1st March
FC Volendam v NEC Nijmegen
Volendam are rock bottom, 13 points from 23 games, and without a win in over two months. The only thing giving them a chance here against European-chasing NEC, is that they find themselves with another week of three games in six days. Even a below par NEC should be able to grab something.
1-1
Saturday, 2nd March
Go Ahead Eagles v RKC Waalwijk
Go Ahead can temporarily head back into fifth place and leapfrog Ajax with a win here. I think they will, too. It was a disappointing showing at Twente last Sunday. Time to put that right and envelop RKC in their attacking play.
2-0
Vitesse Arnhem v FC Twente
I correctly predicted Vitesse’s win at Excelsior last time out to give them some hope of still avoiding the drop. Obviously a win breeds confidence, but Twente visiting Arnhem is a tough ask. The away side are well on their way to securing third spot this season, and whilst I know Twente have struggled at times on the road, I think they will score at least twice in Arnhem.
1-2
Sparta Rotterdam v AZ Alkmaar
Sparta continue to stutter. Having seen AZ’s most recent performances, I think they are returning to some form. The players just look so much happier. Ruben van Bommel is finally finding his feet at Eredivisie level, and it is great to see Wouter Goes in form at the back — another talented young Dutch centre-back.
1-2
Sunday, 3rd March
Ajax v FC Utrecht
It tells a story when you see that Ajax are the league’s third highest scorers, yet also the sixth leakiest defence. They experimented with five in defence in their 2-0 defeat at AZ; I think this was to shore up such a suspect defence and practise for the visit of Aston Villa in the Conference League.
Brian Brobbey looked so isolated with this formation and AZ still managed to find so much space in between the lines. Ajax clearly hadn’t practised these tactics very much at all.
Utrecht meanwhile are 15 unbeaten and looking ahead to the end-of-season playoffs as their route to European football under the tutelage of Ron Jans. Like when NEC visited Amsterdam, I think Ajax are again meeting a team that are around their level now so they will give them a good game. I expect Utrecht to be brave and get at least one goal out of this generous defence.
1-1
PSV v Feyenoord
This is one final opportunity for Feyenoord to claw back PSV in the standings and make this something of a title race. Do I think it’s likely? No.
I have watched PSV a fair bit lately and they do just look like a well oiled machine. They score so many goals and their style of play does keep opponents penned back for large periods of the game.
Serginho Dest gets better by the week it seems in his offensive left-wing back role. PSV love crossing the ball, averaging the most per game in the Eredivisie and of any current table topper in Europe’s best seven leagues. They are a constant menace out wide and I expect them to aggressively pressure Feyenoord.
I can’t quite put my finger on what Feyenoord are missing. They have some nice players, but I still think they lack a cutting edge in attack to complement what Santiago Giménez can offer.
So, I’m sure this will be a good game, but a draw will do PSV just fine.
1-1
Heerenveen v PEC Zwolle
A nice 0-4 win for Heerenveen last weekend has put some smiles back on fans’ faces. However, this is very much a club that feels on the up one week and wanting the manager out the next.
PEC will be wanting to respond to three weeks of disappointment, but like manager Jonny Jansen reiterated, they are still having a very good season for a promoted team. So perhaps a draw is the most likely outcome.
0-0
Fortuna Sittard v Excelsior
Kaj Sierhuis’s wonder goal pinched all three points for Fortuna at RKC last weekend. In reality, the bottom half of the table really does feel like much of a muchness, with very little between the teams. At home, I do think the home side have the advantage with their attacking players just having the edge over what Excelsior can offer. I will go with a draw as Excelsior are getting to a point where they will need to scrap for points in order to stay up; they have tumbled down the table in the last couple of months.
1-1
Heracles Almelo v Almere City
This one is a fixture between two sides aiming to avoid the bottom three. Almere battle so hard and give opponents very little room. If Almere remain modest in what they can do, I think they can frustrate Heracles and pinch a win.
0-1
How has Michael got on so far?
Week 1: 4/9 results
Week 2: 7/9 results and 2 correct scores
Week 3: 4/5 results (reduced due to teams in Europe not playing)
Week 4: 2/9 results
Week 5: 5/9 results and 1 correct score
Week 6: 6/9 results
Week 7: 5/8 results and 1 correct score
Week 8: 5/9 results and 1 correct score
Week 9: 5/9 results and 2 correct scores
Week 10: 4/8 results and 2 correct scores
Week 11: 5/9 results and 1 correct score
Week 12: 4/9 results
Week 13: 6/9 results and 1 correct score
Week 14: 2/9 results
Week 15: 5/9 results
Week 16: 3/9 results
Week 17: 3/9 results
Week 18: 2/8 results
Week 19: 5/9 results and 2 correct scores
Week 20: 7/9 results and 1 correct score
Week 21: 7/9 results and 1 correct score
Week 22: 4/9 results and 1 correct score
Week 23: 5/9 results and 1 correct score