After a great week of European action, the Eredivisie action returns with round 15. Here is our preview of all the matches.

  • By Leo Walker
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twente aaRound 15 will commence with a Friday evening fixture, as former league leaders, FC Twente travel to face Roda JC. FC Twente were without a win in four games before defeating NAC Breda 5-2 last week. Whilst the unpredictable, Roda JC were involved in a thrilling 2-2 draw away at the 9 men of AZ Alkmaar, which was there 6th draw of the season so far. The last time FC Twente recorded a victory in Roda was back in 2009 after their last three visits have resulted in one loss and two draws.

Saturdays action gets under way when RKC Waalwijk, fresh from defeating Feyenoord 1-0, travel to Ron Jans’s PEC Zwolle. The two sides are meeting in the Eredivisie for just the 9th time and you have to go back to 2003 since the last time PEC Zwolle defeated RKC Waalwijk at home. Erwin Koeman’s side, despite continuing to reside in the bottom three will travel with confidence following their victory over Feyenoord. PEC Zwolle are unbeaten in their last three games following three draws against PSV, FC Twente and recently 0-0 against FC Groningen.

Talking of FC Groningen they will be looking to remain in touching distance of Vitesse though they face a difficult tie away in Breda. In the last seven fixtures between the two, FC Groningen have however dominated with four victories and three draws, with NAC Breda last recording a victory over the Green and White Army in 2009. Kicking off the at the same will see the Go Ahead Eagles travelling to the Abe Lenstra Stadion to take on Marco van Basten’s, sc Heerenveen side. The newly promoted side have exceeded expectations so far this season and their last fixture on the road saw them emphatically defeat Roda JC 5-1 however they were comfortably beat 3-0 at home to Vitesse in round 14. The hosts started the season well, however are now just clinging onto their position in the top half with pressure mounting on Marco van Basten with the transfer window looming and the potential exit of star striker, Alfred Finnbogason.

Heracles Almelo are lying dangerously close to the bottom three as they currently reside in 15th just a point above, ADO Den Haag in 16th. They will conclude the day’s action when FC Utrecht visits the Polman Stadion. Jan Wouters side have distanced themselves from the bottom three following last weeks comfortable victory over ADO Den Haag and they will be looking to continue their rise up the table after, by their standards, it has been a disappointing start to the season.

A fierce rivalry will kick start the action on Sunday when ADO Den Haag host Ajax at the Kyocera Stadion in The Hague. The two clubs have history on and off the pitch in what promises to be an entertaining start to the day’s proceedings. Ajax inflicted a famous 2-1 defeat to Barcelona on Tuesday night in the Champions League so Frank de Boer will be mindful of what energy that has taken out of the squad, though confidence is high heading into the round. ADO Den Haag on the other hand remain low on confidence as they continue to under-perform this season after suffering their 8th defeat in round 14.

After the final whistle of the day’s opener, the tie of the round will then take place when Feyenoord take on fellow big club, PSV, at the De Kuip Stadion. PSV are on a dismal run by their standards and were fortunate to gain a point last week to the ten men of Heerenveen. Philip Cocu’s side are without a win in five games, a run which has seen them suffer three defeats in that time. On Thursday evening they travelled to Bulgaria in the Europa League and were defeated again with the travel a further significant negative heading into the crucial tie in Rotterdam. Nothing but a win for PSV will be acceptable against Feyenoord as they could slip even further away from the top, and if results go against them they could find themselves in the bottom half. Feyenoord themselves are slipping away from the title picture after a horror performance in Waalwijk last week following their 1-0 defeat. It is a certainly game that neither side can afford to lose.

The league leaders Vitesse took on one of the newly promoted sides last week when defeating Go Ahead Eagles 3-0, and in round 15 they take on the second of the two clubs who were promoted last season in SC Cambuur. The two sides have met just ten times in their history with the last fixture taking place back in 1999. Vitesse have dominated the games between the two as they are undefeated against SC Cambuur following six victories and four draws and will be confident that they will remain at the top of the Eredivisie come the end of the round.

AZ Alkmaar were also in Europa League action on Thursday, however had a much more comfortable home tie in which they extended their unbeaten run to nine games since Dick Advocaat took charge following a 2-0 victory over Maccabi Haifa. In the Eredivisie though their last two games have ended in 2-2 draws, and to conclude they round they travel to bottom side NEC Nijmegen. The bottom side have recorded just one league victory this season and just one league victory since February in a run which sees them rooted in the automatic relegation zone. With the additional European game on Thursday and suspensions to two of the AZ players, the tie in Nijmegen may not be as easy as the form book suggests though.




Leo Walker (36 Posts)