Eredivisie Preview: Round 23

Posted Saturday, February 13, 2010 by Goal.com

The Eredivisie returns and an exciting round 23 awaits.

Friday

NEC – NAC

Saturday

Vitesse – Twente
Heerenveen – Ajax
ADO Den Haag – Willem II
AZ – Roda

Sunday

Utrecht – Feyenoord
Groningen – RKC
Sparta – VVV
Heracles – PSV

NEC – NAC

The hosts beat RKC 1-0 last week courtesy of a late Bas Sibum goal. NEC have climbed to 14th spot in the table following the win. Head coach Wiljan Vloet will have to make do without midfielders John Goossens and Lasse Schone due to injury. NAC struggled at times against Willem II last week, but the Breda side eventually recorded a 2-1 win. They are the sixth in the Eredivisie after 22 matchdays. Tyrone Loran, Rob Penders and Leonardo are all likely to miss Friday's game due to various injuries.

Prediction: 1-1

Vitesse – Twente

Vitesse put in a disappointing performance against VVV last weekend and were beaten 2-0 in Limburg. The Arnhem side have dropped to 13th spot in the table following their loss. Rogier Molhoek and Sinan Kaloglu will probably have to watch Saturday's game from the stands, while Lasse Nilsson is doubtful. The Enschede side lost their unbeaten status in the away match against Ajax last week, being heavily beaten 3-0. Twente still sit second in the league table though and trail table toppers PSV by three points. Shot-stoppers Sander Boschker and Nikolay Mihaylov are both doubtful due to injury, meaning that head coach Steve McClaren will probably give Cees Paauwe the nod.

Prediction: 1-1

Heerenveen – Ajax

The home side picked up the full three points against Utrecht last weekend courtesy of a Gerald Sibon brace. Heerenveen have climbed to 12th spot in the table with 23 points from 22 games. Arnor Smarason, Kenny Steppe and Mika Vayrynen are being plagued by injury and could miss the match against Ajax. The Amsterdam side impressed against Twente last Sunday and recorded a 3-0 home win. Ajax still sit only third in the league table though and trail second-placed Twente by six points. Head coach Martin Jol has some serious puzzling to do, as Toby Alderweireld, Eyong Enoh, Urby Emanuelson are all out due to injury, while Jan Vertonghen is unavailable due to suspension.

Prediction: 1-2

ADO Den Haag – Willem II

ADO were far from impressive against PSV last weekend and were beaten 2-0 without putting up a fight. The Residentieclub are battling against relegation this term and sit 16th in the Eredivisie table. Lorenzo Pique, Aleksandr Rankovic and Anders Oper are all sidelined due to injury. Willem II put in a decent performance against NAC last Friday, but the Tilburg side were beaten 2-1. The Tricolores sit 17th in the table and desperately need a good result on Saturday. However, head coach Alfons Groenendijk will have to make do without Arjen Swinkels, Frank van der Struijk and Niki Maenpaa due to injury.

Prediction: 0-1

AZ – Roda

The reigning champions shocked Feyenoord at home last weekend and picked up the full three points courtesy of a late goal from defender Hector Moreno. AZ are the eighth after 22 games. Head coach Dick Advocaat doesn't have too many notable absentees due to injury, but David Mendes da Silva is doubtful due to a groin problem. Roda defeated Sparta 2-1 last week and have now collected 23 points. They sit 11th in the league table at the moment. Kris de Wree and Morten Skoubo will probably be forced to watch the game from the stands due to injury. However, Davy de Fauw and Jean Paul Saeijs return from suspension.

Prediction: 2-0

Utrecht – Feyenoord

Utrecht put in a disappointing performance against Heerenveen last weekend and were beaten 2-0. The Domstedelingen dropped to seventh spot in the table following their defeat. Head coach Ton du Chatinier will have to make do without Wesley de Ruiter and Hans Somers due to injury. Feyenoord were defeated 2-1 by champions AZ. The Rotterdam side are still fourth, but can't afford to spill any more points if they are to qualify for Europa League football come the season's end. Dani Fernandez and Kelvin Leerdam are still unavailable due to injury, while Giovanni van Bronckhorst is doubtful. Midfielder Denny Landzaat is unavailable due to suspension.

Prediction: 2-1

Groningen – RKC

The home side appeared to on their way to the full three points against Heracles, but were eventually beaten 4-3 after blowing a 3-1 lead. Groningen dropped to 10th spot in the table following their loss. Head coach Ron Jans has some serious puzzling to do. Leandro Bacuna and Gibril Sankoh will be unavailable due to suspension, while Sepp de Roover, Ondrej Svejdik, Petter Andersson and Tim Sparv are all injured. RKC were beaten 1-0 by NEC last week following a late Bas Sibum goal. The Waalwijk outfit are bottom of the table at the moment with only 12 points to their names. Wouter Gudde and Kevin Vink are both doubtful for Sunday's game due to injury.

Prediction: 2-0

Sparta – VVV

Sparta were beaten 2-1 by Roda last week and have been in abysmal form after the winter break. The Rotterdam side have dropped to 15th spot in the Eredivisie following their poor run of form. Head coach Frans Adelaar will have to make do without star player Kevin Strootman due to suspension, while Emmanuel Boakye and Charles Dissels are out of action due to injury. VVV put in an impressive performance against Vitesse last weekend and have climbed to ninth spot in the table following their outstanding results in the past couple of weeks. They have collected 27 points from 22 games. Shot-stopper Dennis Gentenaar and attacker Kris Boymans are sidelined due to injury and will have to watch Sunday's match from the stands.

Prediction: 2-2

Heracles – PSV

The Almelo side pulled off a great comeback against Groningen last Saturday to record a 4-3 home win. Heracles are the fifth with 36 points. Head coach Gertjan Verbeek will have to make do without midfielder Mark-Jan Fledderus, but doesn't have any other notable absentees. PSV were never really troubled by ADO Den Haag last week and picked up a solid 2-0 win. The Eindhoven side sit atop the table after 22 games and have a three-point lead on chasers Twente. Stanislav Manolev returns to the match squad after a one-match ban, while Orlando Engelaar has returned to full match fitness and is expected to play the full 90 minutes on Sunday.

Prediction: 1-2