Only one team has a perfect score, but with one game less than the others. We are talking about Robin van Persie’s Feyenoord, which currently shares the top spot with 9 points, along with NEC, Utrecht, and PSV Eindhoven. Three wins out of three so far for the historic Rotterdam club: the painful elimination from the Champions League preliminaries by Fenerbahçe does not seem to have affected Steijn and his teammates psychologically, who this year will have to “settle” for participating in the Europa League, a competition in which they were relegated after their comeback against the Turks.
In any case, the schedule continues to smile on Feyenoord, who have a good chance of remaining at the top even after this round: Heerenveen, currently second from bottom and still without a win, are the visitors to De Kuip. It will take a feat to beat van Persie’s men: it is highly unlikely that the Trots van het Noorden will be able to repeat last May’s surprising success, when they ended a long series of consecutive defeats against Feyenoord at the end of the season, beating the Red and Whites 2-0. However, it cannot be ruled out that Heerenveen will score at least one goal: in the first four games, Robin Veldman’s team has always found the back of the net, despite only picking up two points.
PSV Eindhoven, on the other hand, face a tougher task after suffering their first defeat of the season before the break: after winning their first three games, the reigning champions lost 2-0 to newly promoted Telstar in front of their own fans, missing numerous scoring opportunities. Peter Bosz’s men should be able to bounce back immediately at NEC, but they will have to be careful not to underestimate an opponent that has scored an impressive 14 goals in its first four games (the most prolific attack in the tournament).
Predictions for the other matches
And Ajax? The Lancers, led by John Heitinga, need to find their rhythm away from home: two wins at home and only two draws away from Amsterdam. A few days before their Champions League debut against Inter, the Red and Whites should not miss out on three points in their home match against PEC Zwolle in a game that is likely to see at least three goals scored.
First win on the way for Go Ahead Eagles, who will make their Europa League debut next week: the Giallorossi have not started well (three draws and one defeat), but the match against Volendam, another team that has yet to win, could be the turning point. We close with Twente, who have just sacked coach Oosting after an extremely disappointing start to the season (three defeats in four games). The change on the bench is likely to have the desired effect against NAC Breda, who are essentially in the same situation: only three points in four games for the yellow and blacks.
Eredivisie: possible winners
Ajax (in Ajax-PEC Zwolle)
GA Eagles (in GA Eagles-Volendam)
Twente (in Twente-NAC Breda)
Matches with at least three goals in total
Ajax-PEC Zwolle
GA Eagles-Volendam
Eredivisie: matches with at least one goal per team
NEC-PSV Eindhoven
Feyenoord-Heerenveen
Odds comparison
A GA Eagles win is priced at 1.50 on Goldbet, Lottomatica, and Snai. The “Goal” sign in Feyenoord-Heerenveen is quoted at 1.77 on Goldbet and Lottomatica and at 1.73 on Snai.