Category Archives: EREDIVISIE

Week 22 Eredivisie Report – Thursday: Ajax scrape past brave Groningen

February 6, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

Ajax scraped a narrow 2-1 win at home against a valiant FC Groningen to head the table four points clear of second placed FC Twente, although the Enschede side has a game in hand.

Thursday 6th February 2014

FC UTRECHT 1-2 PEC ZWOLLE

Ron Jans’s PEC Zwolle came from behind to nail their third win in the a row against a ten-man Utrecht side.

Adam Sorota was given his marching orders on just before the hour mark and Utrecht were made to pay. Referee Jeroen Sanders gave the midfielder a straight red card after a dangerous challenge on Zwolle striker Guyon Fernandez.

The home side made a good start with American striker Juan Agudelo, on-loan from Stoke City, opening the scoring in the 24th minute with a spectacular strike after turning his marker with ease in the penalty area.

Zwolle got a new lease of life when Sorota was shown the red card and Ron Jans’ side had the man advantage. The substitute of Macedonian striker Denis Mahmudov on for young debutant Australian defender Trent Sainsbury was inspired on and the 24-year-old scored an excellent goal within minute of being on.

Just three minutes later, the game had seen a total turnaround as Zwolle grabbed their second. Utrecht failed to clear a corner and the ball fell perfectly for Fred Benson to spin his marker and striker over Robbin Ruiter in goal.

Zwolle held onto to win, however, looking for the fourth win in a run on Sunday, they face the tough task of league leaders Ajax.

TEAMS

FC UTRECHT: Ruiter, Van der Winden (Dorda 46), Van der Maarel, Delpierre (Koevermans 86), Heerings (Markiet 47), Toornstra, Sarota, Ayoub, De Ridder, Oar, Agudelo.

SUBS NOT USED: Verhoeven, Diemers, Queseda, Badjeck.

GOALS: Agudelo 24.

BOOKINGS: De Ridder.

SENT OFF: Sarota.

PEC ZWOLLE: Boer, Van Hintum, Broerse, Sainsbury (Mahmudov 73), Klich (Nijland 72), Karagounis (Benson 47), Van Polen, Drost, Gravenbeek, Saymak, Fernandez.

SUBS NOT USED: Begois, Epe, Patricio, Fennich.

GOALS: Mahmudov 74, Benson 77.

BOOKINGS: Broerse.

AJAX 2-1 FC GRONINGEN

FC Groningen were unfortunate not to leave the Amsterdam Arena with a point this evening after a tremendous performance, however a Kolbeinn Sigthórsson goal seven minutes from time gave the Amsterdammers the win.

The game started cautiously but we soon saw Ajax dominate the possession and grab a hold of the game and before the half-hour we saw the opening goal.

With 28 minutes gone, Ajax were awarded a penalty by referee Serdar Gözübüyük after Eric Botteghin stuck out a leg to stop Spanish striker Bojan in the area. Danish midfielder Lasse Schöne stepped up to convert, this was his sixth goal of the season in all competitions.

However, Ajax were given a scare when Filip Kostic curled home an unexpected but a delightful left-footed effort before the break that left goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer totally stranded.

The second half was a different story and Groningen started to trouble Ajax and looked more likely to go onto win the game. Kostic was causing all sorts of trouble to the back tracking Ajax defenders but his shot did not match his excellent run and was easily saved by Vermeer.

De Boer rang the changes and brought on three substitutes but Kolbeinn Sigthórsson made the biggest impact and headed home a Christian Poulsen cross on 83 minutes to put a smile on the manager’s face.

TEAMS

AJAX: Vermeer, Van Rhijn, Moisander, Veltman, Riedewald (Poulsen 67), Serero (Duarte 75), Klaassen, Blind, Schöne, Bojan, De Jong (Sigthórsson 67).

SUBS NOT USED: Van der Hart, Van der Hoorn, Fischer, Denswil.

GOALS: Schöne 28P, Sigthórsson 83.

BOOKINGS: None.

FC GRONINGEN: Bizot, Wijnaldum, Burnet, Botteghin, Kappelhof, Kieftenbeld, Van Nieff (Zeefuik 87), Chery, De Leeuw (Zivkovic 76), Kostic.

SUBS NOT USED: Van der Lei, Adorjan, Lindgren, Hiarlej, Magnasco.

GOALS: Kostic 41.

BOOKINGS: Wijnaldum, Kappelhof, De Leeuw.

STANDINGS

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EREDIVISIE

Week 22 Eredivisie Report – Wednesday: Twente up to second, PSV win

February 5, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

Philip Cocu can breathe a sigh of relief as PSV bounced back and grabbed three points tonight, only a few days after suffering an embarrassing 2-0 defeat to RKC Waalwijk. In the final game of the evening, Twente’s Dušan Tadić helped his team leapfrog Vitesse into second place in the league, as they defeated Heerenveen 2-0 to go just a point of leaders Ajax.

Wednesday 5th February 2014

SC CAMBUUR 1-2 PSV

PSV have had a tough start to the week, hammered by the press for Sunday’s loss and tonight did not start any better.

After just two minutes of play, Cambuur striker Elvis Manu, on-loan from Feyenoord, put his side in the lead. From a corner, the PSV failed to clear and Manu poked home, sending the 9,600 capacity into raptures.

PSV gained some motivation and searched for the equaliser, but as the last few games have shown, the young Eindhoven side looked unsure in front of goal and lacked to find that final ball to create any clear cut chances.

It was a set-piece that got Cocu’s men back in the game before half-time and it was a howler by Cambuur goalkeeper Leonard Nienhuis. As a Stijn Schaars free-kick was lofted in, Nienhuis came to claim the ball but completely missed as Jeffrey Bruma got in front of the goalie to the ball to head into the open goal.

Just after the hour mark, PSV grabbed the lead as Manu went from hero to villain. The striker in unfamiliar territory was dispossessed by Luciano Narsingh up the field and the winger floated a cross to the back post where Jürgen Locadia was waiting to flick past Nienhuis.

The Eindhoven side held on to win the game and afterwards, PSV managing director Marcel Brands stated that Rubin Kazan has a made a big money offer for Tim Matavz, we will find out over the next few days whether or not the Slovenian will sign for the Russian club. The fee is rumoured to be around €7m – an amount that PSV cannot refuse for a player that has been out of favour with Phillip Cocu.

TEAMS

CAMBUUR: Nienhuis, Van Boxel (Feldballe 82), Droste, Pereira, Leeuwin, El Makrini, Ritzmaier, Bakker, Manu, Lukoki (Schepers 68), Ogbeche (Hemmen 20).

SUBS NOT USED: Zeinstra, Van Brakel, Van Moorsel, Dijkstra.

GOALS: Manu 2.

BOOKINGS: Manu.

PSV: Zoet, Willems, Rekik, Bruma, Brenet, Schaars, Hiljemark, Park (Zanka Jørgensen 90), Depay, Locadia (Matavz 88), Narsingh (Hendrix 81).

SUBS NOT USED: Tyton, Maher, Bakkali, Arias.

GOALS: Bruma 38, Locadia 61.

BOOKINGS: Rekik.

NEC NIJMEGEN 1-1 NAC BREDA

NEC are now undefeated in five consecutive home games but failed to take all three points against NAC Breda, that would have taken the Nijmegen side out of the relegation places.

It was an even game but the away side drew first blood with Rydell Poepon pouncing on a Tobias Haitz mistake to give NAC the lead. The German defender, tried to take the ball out of his domain but got caught out by Jeffrey Sarpong and the ball fell to the powerful Poepon to blast a wonderful drive past Karl-Johan Johnsson.

The away fans did not celebrate for long, as five minutes later the score was tied. After NEC won a free-kick midway through the half, the ball was fired into the back post towards English striker Michael Higdon. Higdon rose and nodded the ball into the path of Rens van Eijden who fired home.

The home side gained some confidence from the goal and chances by Higdon and Jeffrey Leiwakabessy should have gave Anton Janssen’s men the lead but both could not get the efforts on target.

It was a nightmare game for Haitz who was later (77) dismissed by referee Ed Janssen for two bookable fouls.

TEAMS

NEC: Johnsson, Vermijl, Van Eijden, Haitz, Leiwakabessy, Štefánik (Nielsen 80), Foor, Rieks, Hemlein, Higdon (Castillion 73), Jantscher (Jahanbakhsh 63).

SUBS NOT USED: Smits, Gravenberch, Mulder, Diarra.

GOALS: Van Eijden 23.

BOOKINGS: Haitz, Leiwakabessy.

SENT OFF: Haitz.

NAC: Ten Rouwelaar, De Roover, Drost, Buijs, Van der Weg, Gilissen, Matic, Seuntjens (Suk 70), Hadouir (Verbeek 88), Poepon, Sarpong.

SUBS NOT USED: Babos, Tighadouini, Perica, Swerts, Bodor.

GOALS: Poepon 17.

BOOKINGS: Hadiour, Gilissen.

GO AHEAD EAGLES 2-2 RKC WAALWIJK

Xandro Schenk thought he had clinched all three points for Go Ahead tonight with a goal in the final minute, only for RKC’s Romeo Castelen to equalise a minute later to snatch a point.

After Prince-Desai Gouano fouled Joey Godee around 20 yards out, Jop van der Linden curled the resulting free-kick past Jan Šeda on 24 minutes to shoot the hosts in the lead.

RKC could not find an equaliser until the 64th minute after some great work down the left from Damiano Schet, the winger cut inside and fire the ball across goal but unfortunately for the hosts, Xandro Schenk stuck a book out to draw things up.

In the ninetieth minute, the action really started to heat up. From a Denis Turuc corner, RKC failed to clear as Šeda could not hold Bart Vriends header and the rebound fell to Xandro Schenk to get a goal at the right end.

As the home fans blew the roof of the stadium, RKC did not give up and from the kick-off they equalised. Jonas Ivens flicked on a long ball and Romeo Castelen held the ball up in the box, held off Schenk’s challenge and lashed a turning shot into the goal giving debtutant goalkeeper Stephan Andersen no chance of saving.

Go Ahead now sit in 13th with RKC a place below, both hovering over the relegation places, a draw was no good to either side.

TEAMS

GO AHEAD: Andersen, Schmidt, Vriends, Van der Linden, Schenk, Overgoor (Lambooij 82), Türüç, Falkenburg, Antonia (Azevedo 73), Kolder, Godee.

SUBS NOT USED: Ter Mate, Amevor, Rijsdijk, Haps, Kavak.

GOALS: Van den Linden 24, Schenk 90.

BOOKINGS: None.

RKC: Šeda, Lamey, Van Hoevelen (Ivens 69), Gouano, Amieux, Sno, Duits, Anderson, Castelen, Joachim, Schet (Beauguel 83).

SUBS NOT USED: Van Dijk, Jungschlager, Tavares, De Ridder, Apau.

GOALS: Schet 64, Castelen 90.

BOOKINGS: Duits.

HEERENVEEN 0-2 FC TWENTE

FC Twente jumped into second place tonight and did something no other team has done at the Abe Lenstra Stadion this season – stopped Heerenveen from scoring.

In a game that had expectations of many goals, it featured only two with a great defensive display from Michel Jansen’s side keeping Alfred Finnbogason out of the goals tonight.

It was a quiet uneventful first half with most efforts being kept outside of the post. Hakim Ziyech was his usual troublesome self for the Twente defenders but young goalkeeper Nick Marsman kept the goals from creeping in.

After the interval, neither team emerged with intent of attacking and both looked cautious of the others forwards. The first talking point came on 68 minutes when Twente’s Danish defender Andreas Bjelland grabbed Finnbogason on the shoulder to bring him down when he looked like he was through on goal. Referee Richard Liesveld did not deem as Bjelland being the last man since Rasmus Bengtsson was continuing just behind. Heerenveen head coach Marco van Basten was not happy with the decision and protested the case.

In the last twenty minutes, Serbian playmaker Dušan Tadić came alive. On 73 minutes, The Serb arrived in the box from the right-wing and skipped past one defender. Cutting inside he fired a shot at goal but the effort was deflected off Joey van den Berg, and the ricochet looped over Kristoffer Nordfledt arms and into the goal.

In the final moments, Heerenveen concede the second that confirmed Twente was leaving with maximum points. Tadić again involved, finding substitute striker, the 22-year-old Torgeir Børven, a winter signing from Vålerenga, to slide the ball home at the back post. This was the Norwegian’s first goal for the club in only two substitute appearances.

Twente have put real pressure on league leaders Ajax and look the main threat to stopping Frank de Boer clinching his fourth consecutive Eredivisie championship.

TEAMS

HEERENVEEN: Nordfeldt, Marzo (Sinkgraven 85), Otigba, Kum, Dijks (De Kamps 64), De Roon, Ziyech, Van den Berg, Basacikoglu, Finnbogason, Lurling (Van la Parra 68).

SUBS NOT USED: Vandenbussche, Slagveer, Warmolts, Van Aken.

GOALS: None.

BOOKINGS: None.

TWENTE: Marsman, Rosales, Bengtsson, Bjelland, Koppers, Gutiérrez, Ebecilio, Eghan, Tadić, Castaignos, Promes.

SUBS NOT USED: Stevens, Schilder, Mokhtar, Djurdjevic, Martina, Tapia, Børven.

GOALS: Tadić 73, Børven 90.

BOOKINGS: Rosales, Bjelland, Castaignos.

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EREDIVISIE

Week 22 Eredivisie Report – Tuesday: Vitesse slump to AZ, Feyenoord press on

February 5, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

For the second round of games in a row, once again Vitesse failed to find the win that would have, albeit temporarily, took Peter Bosz’s side top of the Eredivisie. The Arnhem side tasted defeat for only the fourth time this season against Dick Advocaat’s AZ Alkmaar. Elsewhere, Feyenoord won to move four points within leaders Ajax and Heracles grabbed an emphatic but vital victory over ADO Den Haag.

Tuesday 4th February 2014

RODA JC 1-2 FEYENOORD

Ronald Koeman’s Feyenoord keep up with the leading pack in the Eredivisie on Tuesday night with a 2-1 away win to a plucky Roda JC side.

Feyenoord are now four points adrift of leaders Ajax, but the defending champions have a game in hand.

Lex Immers fired the away side in the lead with just 13 minutes gone. Roda defender Ard van Peppen failed to clear a Graziano Pellè chip into the box and Immers collected on the edge of area, stormed and finished with a low drive past Filip Kurto.

The visitors pressed for a second goal and just before half-time the game look done and dusted. Pellè and Immers again involved, with the Italian playing in Immers, whose shot was parried by Kurto into the path of Samuel Armenteros, who notched his first goal for the club.

After the interval, Jon Dahl Tomasson’s side looked a different team and attacked Feyenoord from the whistle but were unable to find a goal until the 76th minute. The ever-dangerous Arnaud Sutchuin surged into the area, but following him was Immers who stretched for the ball but brought the Cameroonian down. Moroccan midfielder Anouar Kali stepped up to convert and sent Erwin Mulder the other way.

Koeman dropped his team deep to save the three points and it worked a treat as the Rotterdam side held on and are now on 40 points.

RODA: Kurto, Monteyne, Luijckx, Biemans, Van Peppen (Ramos 89), Hupperts, Sutchuin, Donald, Kali, Jansen, Shkurtaj (Pluim 62).

SUBS NOT USED: Prus, Bonevacia, Hocher, Letschert, Jacobs.

GOALS: Kali 77P.

BOOKINGS: Kali, Hupperts.

FEYENOORD: Mulder, Janmaat, De Vrij, Kongolo, Martins Indi, Clasie, Immers, Vilhena, Armenteros (Goossens 79), Pellè, Boëtius.

SUBS NOT USED: Graafland, Verhoek, Bakkal, Nelom, Te Vrede, Van Beek.

GOALS: Immers 12, Armenteros 45.

BOOKINGS: Immers.

ADO DEN HAAG 0-3 HERACLES

ADO suffered their fifth loss in their last six outings which sent the Den Haag club to the bottom of the division and cost Maurice Steijn his job.

Steijn was sacked on Wednesday morning just a few hours after they suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat at home to Heracles. The visitors got off to a great start with the in-form Bryan Linssen put Heracles ahead in just two minutes. Mark Uth and Linssen combined in the area until the latter placed a shot home past Gino Coutinho.

It was then the turn of Mark Uth to notch after 34 minutes with a great header. Down the right-wing, Mikhail Rosheuvel whipped a ball into the front post and the striker, on-loan from Heerenveen, nipped ahead of his marker to nod past Coutinho.

Just before the hour mark the scoring was completed and it was Uth again on the scoresheet. Rosheuvel attacked down the middle while the ADO defender backed off, with Uth overlapping down the left. Rosheuvel played the striker in and he finished in style to make it 3-0 and confirm the three points for Heracles, and sent ADO crashing down to the bottom of the Eredivisie.

ADO: Coutinho, Malone, Beugelsdijk, Zuiverloon, Holla, Meijers, Van Haaren (Gouriye 47 (Kanon 85)), Alberg, Kramer, Van Duinen, Schet.

SUBS NOT USED: Zwinkels, Wormgoor, Gehrt, Bakker, Cabral.

GOALS: None.

BOOKINGS: Alberg.

HERACLES: Pasveer, Te Wierik, Schenkeveld, Veldmate, Davidson, Rienstra, Cziommer (Bruns 79), Bel Hassani, Rosheuvel, Uth (Amoah 85), Linssen (Van Dijk 51).

SUBS NOT USED: Telgenkamp, Tannane, Belterman, Powel.

GOALS: Linssen 2, Uth 34, 57.

BOOKINGS: None.

VITESSE 0-2 AZ ALKMAAR

Second-placed Vitesse Arnhem missed the chance to move ahead of Ajax temporarily after losing only their fourth game of the season to Dick Advocaat’s AZ Alkmaar.

AZ played Dortmund-like, high up the pitch with relentless immediate pressure from the kick-off. Pressing Vitesse in their own half, AZ kept possession well and were nearly a goal up after ten minutes. The hosts failed to clear a free-kick from the right and the ball fell perfectly for Roy Beerans from 35-yards out who hit the ball first time, Vitesse goalkeeper Piet Velthuizen scrambled across the goal to tip wide.

On twenty minutes, AZ found themselves in front with the unfortunate Patrick van Aanholt scoring an own goal. Beerens forced himself forward with the ball and laid the ball to the left to Aron Johansson. Johansson cut in and smashed the ball across the goal-line and Van Aanholt, trying to cut the ball from reaching Steven Berghuis, and unfortunately the Chelsea man fired the ball into the net.

Vitesse instantly picked themselves up and went for an equaliser, but each time they attacked they left gaps at the back and a horrible defensive mix-up lead to the second goal. Just before half-time, Aron Johansson notched one of the easiest goals of his career.

A long clearance up field from Jan Wuytens sent Johansson jumping for the ball deep into the Vitesse half with defenders Guram Kashia and Jan-Arie van der Heijden. The Vitesse pairing clashed together and the American international was left to calmly chip the ball over Velthuizen to make it 2-0.

After the break, Alkmaar determinedly protected their lead and kept all three points. This now makes Vitesse challenge for their first ever Eredivisie championship a huge challenge to overcome, especially if leaders Ajax can extend their lead against FC Groningen on Thursday evening.

VITESSE: Velthuizen, Leerdam, Kashia, Van den Heijden, Van Aanholt, Pröpper, Vejinovic (Traore 46), Atsu (Qazaishvili 81), Ibarra, Havenaar, Piazón (Labyad 46).

SUBS NOT USED: Room, Mori, Van der Struijk, Djurdjevic.

GOALS: None.

BOOKINGS: Leerdam.

AZ: Esteban, Reijnen, Gouweleeuw, Wuytens, Viergever, Gudelj, Elm, Ortiz, Beerens, Jóhannsson (Avdic 46), Berghuis (Gudmundsson 74).

SUBS NOT USED: Johansson, Gorter, De Winter, Henriksen, Lewis.

GOALS: Van Aanholt 20OG, Jóhannsson 42.

BOOKINGS: Elm, Gudmundsson.

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BETTING TIPS, EREDIVISIE, EREDIVISIE PREVIEW

EREDIVISIE WEEK 22 PREVIEW & BETTING TIPS

February 4, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

After nailing four out of nine games at the weekend, Will Burns is back with his picks for the midweek Eredivisie extravaganza (all nine games) and like all his tips, you will not see a ‘best bet’ under evens – good luck!

Tuesday 4th February

RODA JC vs. FEYENOORD – 17:45

Roda’s last game at Parkstad Limburg Stadion was Jon Dahl Tomasson’s first win as head coach in a 1-0 win over Utrecht. After losing 3-1 at PEC Zwolle on Saturday, they face the tough test of Ronald Koeman’s Feyenoord tomorrow night.

Feyenoord featured in Friday night’s game which was a 1-1 draw against Vitesse that leaves the Koeman’s men seven points off league leaders Ajax. The title race is not out of reach yet and they will look to Italian striker Graziano Pelle to add to his tally of 16 in 19 games this campaign.

I can see Feyenoord being too strong for Roda and at 13/8 at Betfair for the Rotterdam side to be winning at half-time and full-time, it’s too big of a bet to miss.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Feyenoord HT/FT (13/8 – Betfair)

ADO DEN HAAG vs. HERACLES – 18:45

Both sides experienced defeats over the weekend: Heracles at home to NAC Breda and ADO at Heerenveen, with a five points separating them in the league table.

I see this being a close game even though both sides will be itching to get back on track, I see this match finishing as a score draw. For the best bet, take a look at BetVictor’s at 13/5 for this one.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Draw (13/5 – BetVictor)

VITESSE vs. AZ ALKMAAR – 19:45

Tuesday’s main event will be second place Vitesse hosting sixth placed AZ Alkmaar. AZ have proved to be a bit of a jinx for the Arnhem side over the years, with Vitesse failing to find a win in the last eight meetings between the two sides.

Peter Bosz’s side will look to change all that this time round and place a bit of pressure on Ajax, currently two points clear them. A win would take Vitesse ahead of the Amsterdam side, with Ajax yet to play at home to Groningen on Thursday.

AZ will certainly not lay down for Vitesse and it will be a tough test for Bosz’s men. However, AZ has been a little inconsistent with two wins and three defeats from their last five matches played. Look for Vitesse to win this one and let’s take them to win by two clear goals to give us a bit of value.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Vitesse -1 (29/20 – SkyBet)

Wednesday 5th February

SC CAMBUUR vs. PSV – 17:45

After a shocking display at Waalwijk, a 2-0 defeat on Sunday, Philip Cocu needs to pick his side up for the trip to Cambuur on Wednesday evening. With only one win on the road in the last nine games, Cocu has a tough job.

Cambuur on the other hand put in a good showing away to Twente earlier on Sunday, despite running out on the wrong side of a 3-1 scoreline.

PSV are struggling to score goals and as we won on ‘Under 2.5 Goals’ in the RKC game on Sunday, let’s go for it again at 11/10 at Sky Bet. There has been under 2.5 goals in the last four games involving PSV so let’s see if that run will continue.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Under 2.5 Goals (11/10 – SkyBet)

GO AHEAD EAGLES vs. RKC WAALWIJK – 18:45

The impressive Evander Sno hit both goals in RKC’s win over PSV on Sunday and the Waalwijk side will look to build on that victory away to Go Ahead Eagles on Wednesday evening. However, Erwin Koeman’s side has a horrible away record with only two wins in the last 21 trips.

Go Ahead on the other hand has faired well at home this season with only two defeats in ten, and those losses were against the current top two, Vitesse and Ajax. A win for RKC is not unthinkable but I cannot see it happening.

Although the draw on the other hand could, with six draws for the Eagles and seven for RKC already this season I can see them adding to this tally on Wednesday.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Draw (13/5 – Betfred, SkyBet and Bet365)

NEC NIJMEGEN vs. NAC BREDA – 18:45

It is a close league this season with just five points splitting NEC (17th) and NAC (10th). NEC have a great home record this campaign with only losing two out of nine games (to Vitesse and Ajax) since the sacking of Alex Pastoor in September.

In an interesting stat, NEC Nijmegen have not beaten NAC in the last seven meetings between the sides in all competitions so going with the stats, I feel the best bet is a draw.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Draw (11/4 – WilliamHill)

HEERENVEEN vs. FC TWENTE – 19:45

FC Twente are in tremendous form and have only experienced a defeat twice in the Eredivisie this season, both away games to ADO Den Haag and Vitesse.

Heerenveen striker Alfred Finnbogason is also in tremendous form notching an amazing 20 goals in 18 games, which persuade Fulham to offer €10m on transfer deadline day.

With the Icelandic international notching left, right and centre I am unsure that Twente can defeat Heerenveen, but what I can predict is goals!

BURNS’ BEST BET: Over 3.5 Goals (13/5 – BetVictor)

Thursday 6th February

FC UTRECHT vs. PEC ZWOLLE – 17:45

Thursday sees PEC Zwolle travel to a struggling FC Utrecht full of confidence after Sunday’s 3-1 over Roda. While Jan Wouters’s Utrecht halted a run of four successive league defeats with a hard-fought point at home to Ajax, but they still remain five games without a win.

Zwolle look to clinch their third consecutive victory on Thursday but with the tricky Ryan Thomas providing balls for Guyon Fernandez and Mustafa Saymak, I think they could do it this Thursday at the Stadion Galgenwaard.

BURNS’ BEST BET: PEC Zwolle to win (19/10 – Unibet)

AJAX vs. FC GRONINGEN – 19:45

The final game of the Week 22 fixtures sees league leaders Ajax take on the underperforming FC Groningen.

The defending champions have won nine of their last eleven games and kept six clean sheets in their last seven at the Amsterdam ArenA. Do not look past an Ajax win if you are placing an accumulator this week, as I cannot see any other result coming close in this one.

Groningen lost away to AZ by two goals to nil on Saturday and I can see Ajax going one better winning the match 3-0. So let’s end the week with a huge 7/1 tip and good luck!

BURNS’ BEST BET: Ajax to win 3-0 (7/1 – Bet365)

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EREDIVISIE

Week 21 Eredivisie Report – Ajax held, PSV shocked and Twente win

February 2, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

Sunday 2nd February 2014

FC UTRECHT 1-1 AJAX

League leaders Ajax failed to take advantage of Vitesse’s slip-up on Friday with a 1-1 draw on their own against the struggling FC Utrecht.

In Friday night’s game second placed Vitesse were held at fourth placed Feyenoord giving Ajax a chance to extend their lead at the top of Eredivisie. However, Frank de Boer’s side dropped two points at Jan Wouters’ FC Utrecht side who were on a four-game losing streak before kick-off.

The hosts were roared on by the 19,245 inside the Stadion Galgenwaard and they nearly went ahead after just 8 minutes. Right-back Mark van der Maarel surged forward and combined with Stoke City’s Juan Agudelo, who back-heeled the ball back into Van der Maarel’s path who shot over. A minute later, Utrecht had another opportunity though captain Jens Toornstra, after the midfielder had beat Joël Veltman he unfortunately dragged his shot wide.

Ajax got themselves together after the two scares and started creating their own chances and central defender Niclas Moisander came close on 19 minutes. Danish midfielder Lasse Schöne curled a free-kick into the box from the right-wing and the Finnish defender rose above everyone and powered a header towards goal, only for Robbin Ruiter in the Utrecht goal to tip over.

The defending Eredivisie champions took the lead in the 25th minute and it was Daley Blind, the goalscorer. Blind started his career as a left-back but he is really excelling in his new found holding midfielder role and he lashed a low drive into the corner of the goal from 25 yards, the Utrecht crowd was silenced.

Only seven minutes, the scores were tied. Belgian striker Steve de Ridder, formerly of Southampton, deceived the Ajax defence to make it 1-1. A long ball from Ruiter was flicked on by Tommy Oar, the ball fell into the box, De Ridder slipped past Veltman, skipped the ball past Jasper Cillessen and slipped the ball into the empty net.

The Belgian nearly made it two early in the second half with a tremendous volleyed effort that gave Cillessen no chance of saving, but the ball smashed off the crossbar.

Fully aware of Friday’s result in the backs of their mind, Frank de Boer’s men pressed for a winner and on 57 minutes, they should have took the lead. Great link-up play from Thulani Serero and Viktor Fischer, eventually fed Fischer through on goal but the young Dane placed his shot the wrong side of the post.

Ajax had one last chance before the final whistle decided the draw, with Schöne lashing a volley from the right side of area direct from a long ball from Blind, but the midfielder’s effort smashed off the post and away to safety.

De Boer takes his side back to Amsterdam to face Groningen on Thursday night and with Vitesse facing the tough test of AZ Alkmaar on Tuesday, he knows that the champions could have another opportunity to pull away from the chasing pack, and this time the opportunity must not be missed.

TEAMS

UTRECHT: Ruiter, Van der Maarel, Markiet, Delpierre (Badjeck 59), Van der Winden, Ayoub, Sarota, Toornstra, De Ridder (Quesada 76), Oar, Agudelo.

SUBS NOT USED: Verhoeven, Diemers, Bjelica, Klabier, Van Velzen.

GOALS: De Ridder 33.

BOOKINGS: None.

AJAX: Cillessen, Van Rhijn, Veltman, Moisander, Boilesen (Poulsen 50), Blind, Klaassen, Serero, Schöne, Bojan (De Jong 65), Fischer.

SUBS NOT USED: Vermeer, Van der Hoorn, Duarte, Sigthórsson, Ligeon.

GOALS: Blind 25.

BOOKINGS: Van Rhijn.

FC TWENTE 3-1 SC CAMBUUR

FC Twente came from behind to defeat Cambuur 3-1 to further claim third place with a game in hand and just four points off the top of the league. It was a tough game for Michel Jansen’s side especially when Cambuur headed to Enschede full of confidence after turning over Heerenveen 3-1 last weekend.

Last week’s hero for Cambuur, new Nigerian striker Bartholomew Ogbeche controversially won his team a penalty that gave the visitors the lead. Tussling with Rasmus Bengtsson, Ogbeche linked arms with the defender while trying to pull himself back to his feet from a tackle and referee Pol Van Boekel pointed to the spot. Cambuur captain Ramon Leeuwin successful converted the spot-kick on 24 minutes.

Twente pressed for an equaliser with Luc Castaignos coming closest in the first half. Quincy Promes played the 21-year-old through on goal one-on-one with Leonard Nienhuis, but as the striker stretched for the ball he could only poke his effort against the post.

After the break, Twente were pushing the visitors into their own half and within 9 minutes of the restart the scores were level. The inspirational Dušan Tadić placed a right-wing free-kick into the box and Luc Castaignos powered a header past Nienhuis for 1-1.

Six minutes later, on the hour mark Twente had the lead. Tadić played a short corner low into substitute Shadrach Eghan on the edge of the area, the Ghanaian hit a low curling shot that bounced past Nienhuis to make it 2-1.

All three points were clinched 11 minutes from the end with another headed goal, this time Rasmus Bengtsson the scorer. Promes whipped in a corner to the front post and the big Swedish defender nodded home.

Twente now look to continue to their good run of nine games unbeaten away to Heerenveen on Tuesday evening.

TEAMS

TWENTE: Marsman, Rosales, Bengtsson, Bjelland, Schilder (Koppers 56), Promes, Ebecilio, Gutiérrez, Mokhtar (Eghan 59), Tadić, Castaignos (Borven 67).

SUBS NOT USED: Stevens, Djordjevic, Martina, Tapia.

GOALS: Castaignos 54, Eghan 60, Bengtsson 79.

BOOKINGS: Tadić.

CAMBUUR: Nienhuis, Van der Laan, Droste, Leeuwin, Van Moorsel (Mulders 61), Ritzmaier, El Makrini (Bakker 76), Ogbeche (Hemmen 61), Manu, Lukoki.

SUBS NOT USED: Zeinstra, Van Boxel, Pereira, Feldballe.

GOALS: Leeuwin 25.

BOOKINGS: Bijker, Van der Laan, Lukoki.

NEC NIJMEGEN 1-1 GO AHEAD EAGLES

NEC and Go Ahead Eagles shared the points in a poor game, but it was a result that saw the home side lift off the bottom of the Eredivisie standings.

The Nijmegen side will be disappointed not to grab all three points after leading for the majority of the game. They took an early lead with English striker Michael Higdon notching his eighth goal in 16 appearances after just five minutes gone.

Go Ahead did not grab an equalising goal until just before the hour mark with Deniz Türüç smashing home the goal of the weekend from 30 yards out.

TEAMS

NEC: Johnsson, Vermijl, Van Eijden, Haitz, Conboy, Mulder (Foor 61), Rieks, Štefánik (Leiwakabessy 50), Hemlein, Higdon, Jantscher (Jahanbakhsh 73).

SUBS NOT USED: Smits, Nielsen, Gravenberch, Castillion.

GOALS: Higdon 5.

BOOKINGS: Conboy.

GO AHEAD: Ter Mate, Schmidt, Vriends, Van der Linden, Schenk (Haps 78), Overgoor, Falkenburg, Türüç, Antonia (Rijsdijk 89), Kolder, Houtkoop (Godee 86).

SUBS NOT USED: Lucas, Amevor, Lambooij, Pot.

GOALS: Türüç 58.

BOOKINGS: Haps.

RKC WAALWIJK 2-0 PSV

In what has become a bogey ground for PSV, the Mandemakers Stadion has haunted the Eindhoven side again. Former Celtic midfielder Evander Sno hit a double to give Phillip Cocu yet another embarrassing defeat.

It was a case of the same old story for PSV with a total of 8 shots on target and 12 off with no goals. It is strange to say that PSV are struggling to score goals when you think of years past, but with only three goals in the last four goals, Cocu’s side could definitely do with something different up front.

PSV’s most dangerous man was Memphis Depay and he came the closest to scoring throughout, in fact he has 12 shots in total himself, and with only four being off target, that made all PSV’s shots on target being Depay’s.

The Eindhoven dominated with 69% of the possession and the majority coming in the first half, and PSV were unlucky not to be awarded a spot-kick on 23 minutes. Depay again causing trouble in the RKC area, and after he turned Michael Lamey inside out, the defender tugged Depay’s shirt and pulled him down but referee Bas Nijhuis deemed it not to be a foul.

After the interval, it was more of the same for PSV but Cocu had ordered his side to play higher up and it cost them on 54 minutes. Bursting out on the counter attack, Aurelien Joachim and Damiano Schet combined to play in Evander Sno down on the right-wing. The 26-year-old midfielder cut inside, kept his shot low and nutmegged PSV goalie Jeroen Zoet to send the Mandemakers Stadion into raptures.

Philip Cocu brought out attacking pair Zakaria Bakkali and Florian Jozefzoon to try and inject some energy in front of goal but the more PSV attacked, RKC sprung the counter.

It was all over deep into stoppage time when substitute Daniel de Ridder slipped in fellow sub Jean-David Beauguet on the left. The Frenchman pulled the ball back to Sno on the edge of the box who confidently side-footed a first-time effort past Zoet to end the game for PSV.

TEAMS

RKC: Šeda, Lamey, Van Hoevelen, Amieux, Gouano, Anderson (Jungschläger 78), Duits, Sno, Castelen (De Ridder 72), Schet, Joachim (Beauguel 88).

SUBS NOT USED: Van Dijk, Ivens, Tavares, Apau.

GOALS: Sno 54, 90.

BOOKINGS: Lamey.

PSV: Zoet, Willems, Rekik, Bruma, Arias, Maher (Bakkali 76), Schaars, Park, Depay, Locadia, Narsingh (Jozefzoon 76)

SUBS NOT USED: Tyton, Zanka Jørgensen, Brenet, Hiljemark, Hendrix.

GOALS: None.

BOOKINGS: None.

STANDINGS

League table courtesy of FIFA.com

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EREDIVISIE, FEATURE

KYLE EBECILIO: EX-ARSENAL YOUTH THRIVING IN THE EREDIVISIE

February 2, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

This article is courtesy of

In the first Eredivisie match of the New Year, FC Twente took on lowly Heracles, who managed to pull off a couple of wins before the winter break, but got off to a poor start to the second half of the season. FC Twente took the lead early on in the first half and controlled the match throughout the rest of the 90 minutes as they won easily by a score of 3-1. The home side netted a penalty late on in the second half to seal the deal, which has also moved them to the top of the table, at least for the night. However, both Ajax and Vitesse should both be looking to win their matches fairly easily this weekend, so Twente will most likely fall back down into third place.

The Dutch giants came out attacking in a 4-3-3 formation with the sensational Luc Castaignos scoring the second goal of the match. The Twente footballers were allowed to roam from their positions moving forward in order to find space in between the opposition’s defense as they were always moving around. The young striker has scored in 6 of his last 7 Eredivisie matches. When Twente were in defense, they switched to a 4-4-2 formation to overload the midfield area and snuff out any space that might have been left from the other formation. In defense, there were usually 10 players behind the ball with two strikers playing off the shoulders looking to spring into a counter attacking movement looking to cut the opposition’s back four apart.

Kyle Ebecilio was a member of the Feyenoord youth academy until 2010 when European giants Arsenal snatched away this budding Dutch star. Ebecilio thrived in their youth system and broke onto the scene with the Dutch U17 squad where he won the Golden Player award at the under-17 European Championships back in 2011. However, Ebecilio wanted some first team action and he was not going to get it at Arsenal, so in May of 2013, the young Dutchman moved back home and signed a five year contract with FC Twente. Ebecilio stands at 1.82 meters tall and is a big presence in Michel Jensen’s midfield. At still just 18 years of age, Ebecilio wanted first team action and has certainly gotten some this season. In 19 league matches, he has made a total of 18 starts, while being an unused sub just one time.

Ebecilio has a very good work rate in him. He is always working hard, whether the club is moving forward in attack or going back and defending. The Dutchman is always looking for space to move into along the right side of the pitch to deliver crosses into the box so his teammates to get onto the end of them and slide them into the back of the net. Kyle will not blow by any defender but he will stretch the opposition’s defense apart with his triangle passing with his teammates along that flank. In the match against Heracles last night, he did just this.

Although he was fairly anonymous in the first half, Ebecilio stepped up his game in the second half. The young Dutchman got more involved in the attack as he managed to get a shot off, but it was not a good attempt at all. If there is one thing, his goal count will definitely not blow you away, but that is partially due to where he is being played at Twente. This was not the best match he has played this season, but Ebecilio is capable of much better and expect him to do so in the near future. By the time his contract runs out at Twente, he will still be just 23 years of age and look for the bigger clubs around Europe to be scouting him well before then. Despite last night’s match against Heracles, Ebecilio is an excellent player and will continue to develop into a phenomenal player and will feature with the Dutch National squad regularly.

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EREDIVISIE

Week 21 Eredivisie Report – AZ, Zwolle, NAC, Heerenveen all victorious

February 2, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

SATURDAY 1ST FEBRUARY 2014

HEERENVEEN 3-0 ADO DEN HAAG

After head coach Marco van Basten announced this past week that he would be leaving the club at the end of the season, Heerenveen stepped up to the plate and delivered three season half goals to defeat ADO.

Heerenveen’s latest signing, Anthony Lurling, who will be 37 in April, replaced Luciano Slagveer in the side but he failed to inspire this new side in the first half which was lacklustre, due to the attacking performances from both teams. Both midfields constantly failed to link up with their forwards and give the ball away to each other, and were restricted to long-range efforts which never bothered either goalkeeper. The score at half-time was goal-less.

The hosts pressed after the break and took the lead in controversial fashion that referee Ed Janssen under huge protests from the ADO players. Hakim Ziyech whipped in a free-kick from the right-wing which sailed into the arms of ADO goalkeeper Gino Coutinho low on the ground. Tom Beugelsdijk was marking Kenny Otigba who was heading towards the ball and both players momentum sent Otigba into the ball to knock it home. Coutinho did have two hands on the ball but the goal was given.

The advantage was doubled ten minutes later, when a spot-kick was awarded when Bilal Basacikoglu was weakly pushed over by Aaron Meijers. This gave Alfred Finnbogason the opportunity to score his 20th goal in just 18 games, which he duly took, coolly chipping the ball down the middle of the goal.

ADO applied pressure to try and get back into the game but the points were cemented deep into stoppage time. Heerenveen absorbed the attacks and sent Rajiv van la Parra on the counter attack to make it three.

TEAMS

HEERENVEEN: Nordfeldt, Van Anholt, Kum, Otigba, Dijks, De Roon, Van den Berg, Ziyech (Sinkgraven 91), Lurling (Van la Parra 83), Finnbogason, Basacikoglu.

SUBS NOT USED: Vandenbussche, Marzo, De Kamps, Slagveer, Zomer.

GOALS: Otigba 58, Finnbogason 68P, Van La Parra 90+2.

BOOKINGS: Van Anholt, Otigba.

ADO DEN HAAG: Coutinho, Malone, Zuiverloon, Beugelsdijk, Meijers, Bakker (Kramer 63), Holla, Van Haaren, Alberg, Van Duinen, Schet.

SUBS NOT USED: Zwinkels, Wormgoor, Gouriye, Kanon, Merencia, Cabral.

GOALS: None

BOOKINGS: Van Haaren, Schet.

PEC ZWOLLE 3-1 RODA JC

Jon Dahl Tomasson suffered his first league defeat as Roda manager as they fell to an improving PEC Zwolle side in a quiet an even game.

The away side failed to keep possession early on and in the 19th minute, New Zealand international Ryan Thomas gave Zwolle the lead. After Roda were unable to clear a corner, the ball fell to Thomas who slid home from close range.

As the first-half petered out and it looked like Thomas had scored the only goal of the game until after the half-time break. Tomasson’s side pressed for an equaliser and found the goal just after the hour mark after some great play from man-of-the-moment Guus Hupperts. Hupperts weaved his way past defenders into the box and found Mitchell Donald at the back post to tap into an empty net.

Roda looked more likely to grab a second but against the run of play, Zwolle were awarded a penalty on 77 minutes, after Thomas was adjudged to be bundled over by Bart Biemans by referee Bjorn Kuipers. It was a poor decision from the ref as video replays showed that Thomas had gone down easy from a shoulder nudge. Guyon Fernandez converted the spot-kick sending Filip Kurto in the opposite direction.

The points were cemented two minutes into stoppage time when substitute Fred Benson fired home Zwolle’s third. After Kurto had stopped Mateusz Klich and Thanasis Karagounis’s close range effort, Benson finished to send the home side home happy.

TEAMS

ZWOLLE: Boer, Van Hintum, Broerse, Van der Werff (Lachman 47 (Gravenbeek 68)), Mokotjo, Van Polen, Karagounis, Klich, Saymak (Benson 74), Thomas, Fernandez.

SUBS NOT USED: Begios, Nijland, Drost, Mahmudov.

GOALS: Thomas 19, Fernandez 77P, Benson 90.

BOOKINGS: Klich.

RODA: Kurto, Monteyne (Ramos 89), Van Peppen, Biemans, Luijckx, Paulissen (Hocher 82), Donald, Kali, Sutchin, Hupperts, Shkurti (Pluim 65).

SUBS NOT USED: Prus, Bonevacia, Wijnen, Jacobs.

GOALS: Donald 62.

BOOKINGS: Paulissen, Biemans.

HERACLES 1-2 NAC BREDA

NAC Breda defeated Heracles by two goals to one to leapfrog them into the top ten and win their first game in three matches.

Breda had goalkeeper Jelle ten Rouwelaar to thank in the opening half-hour after the hosts began the better of the two sides. However, at the other end Remko Pasveer gifted NAC the lead in the 38th minute with Jordy Buijs getting his third goal of the season. The Heracles ‘keeper failed to catch a corner and Buijs prodded home the opening goal.

Jan de Jonge’s men pressed for an equaliser but watched his side concede another just after the hour mark. Mats Seuntkens turned Jason Davidson on the right-wing and whipped in a pin-perfect cross to Rydell Popeon in the middle of the area to head past Pasveer.

Ten minutes later, Heracles did get a goal back through top scorer Bryan Linssen. Simon Cziommer surged into the right area of the box and looped a ball towards goal where Linssen rose above everyone to make it 2-1.

Linssen nearly got his eighth goal of the campaign to equalise near the end of the game, but Rouwelaar again, kept his team in it to fire his team into the top ten.

TEAMS

HERACLES: Pasveer, Veldmate, Davidson, Te Wierik, Schenkeveld, Rienstra, Bel Hassani (Bruns 80), Cziommer, Linssen, Rosheuvel (Tannane 64), Uth (Powel 67).

SUBS NOT USED: Telgenkamp, Amoah, Van Dijk, Belterman.

GOALS: Linssen 71.

BOOKINGS: Cziommer, Veldmate.

NAC: Ten Rouwelaar, Van der Weg, Buijs, Drost, De Roover, Matic (Suk 78), Gilissen, Hadouir (Verbeek 84), Seuntjens, Sarpong (Tighadouini 90), Poepen.

SUBS NOT USED: Babos, Perica, Swerts, Bodor.

GOALS: Buijs 38, Poepon 61.

BOOKINGS: Van der Weg, Hadouir.

AZ ALKMAAR 2-0 FC GRONINGEN

Two first-half Nemanja Gudelj goals gave AZ a great 2-0 win over FC Groningen.

It was a great start for Dick Advocaat’s men as Gudelj opened the scoring in just the third minute of play. From a Celso Ortiz free-kick, the ball fell kindly in the area for the Serbian midfielder to strike off Groningen defender Eric Botteghin and past Marco Bizot in the visitors’ goal.

AZ smelt blood and attacked Groningen relentlessly until the Serbian made it two in the 17th minute, and it was a great volleyed effort. After Steven Berghuis curled a low ball into the box, Gudelj acrobatically hit a right foot smash past Bizot.

Groningen improved after the internval but were unable to breach the AZ defence, and now the Alkmaar side has won two of its last three Eredivisie matches to climb to sixth place with 30 points, moving the club two points clear of their opponents today.

TEAMS

AZ: Esteban, Wuytens, Gouweleeuw, Viergever, Reijnen, Gudelj, Elm, Berghuis (Gudmundsson 77), Ortiz, Johannsson, Beerens.

SUBS NOT USED: De Winter, Johansson, Gorter, Henriksen, Lewis, Avdic.

GOALS: Gudelj 3, 17.

BOOKINGS: None.

GRONINGEN: Bizot, Magnasco (Nieff 47), Wijnaldum, Kappelhof, Hiarlej (Zeefuik 76), Botteghin, Kieftenbeld, De Leeuw, Chery, Adorjan (Burnet 47), Kostic.

SUBS NOT USED: Van der Lei, Kirm, Lindgren, Zivkovic.

GOALS: None.

BOOKINGS: None.

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EREDIVISIE, NEWS

Koeman to leave Feyenoord in May

February 1, 2014 Will Burns 1 Comment

Feyenoord head coach Ronald Koeman has announced he will leave his position at the end of the season. The 50-year-old has opted not to extend his contract with the Dutch club.

“The decision not to sign is one that I’ve made purely by feeling,” said Koeman.

The former international defender lead Feyenoord to second place in the Eredivisie in his first season and followed that up with a third-placed finish last season, however this campaign, they are currently fourth in the league.

The Rotterdam club’s technical director Martin van Geel said it was a “shame” Koeman was leaving.

Van Geel added: “We have plenty of time to look for a successor. It’s not surprising that a coach who had performed fantastically well during his three years here wants to look further. In that sense, I am not really amazed or surprised by his decision.”

After joining the Rotterdam side in 2011, Koeman became the first man to have served as both a player and coach at the three Dutch giants – PSV Eindhoven, Ajax and Feyenoord.

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BETTING TIPS, EREDIVISIE, EREDIVISIE PREVIEW

EREDIVISIE WEEK 21 PREVIEW – Sunday

February 1, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

Sunday brings another four games in the Eredivisie and Will Burns is back with his picks and like all his tips, you will not see a ‘best bet’ under evens – good luck!

Sunday 2nd February

FC UTRECHT vs. AJAX – 11:30

Utrecht face the league leaders Ajax in a fight to end a horrible run that could now stretch to five consecutive defeats. It may an impossible task for Jan Wouters side as Ajax have proved this season to be defensively sound, keeping six clean sheets in their last eight games.

With the amount of injuries that Utrecht have, especially the attacking options, I cannot see Ajax not winning this one and by big margin. The best bet is along at PaddyPower.com and will be Ajax to win by 2 goals.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Ajax -1 (11/10 – PaddyPower)

FC TWENTE vs. SC CAMBUUR – 13:30

SC Cambuur’s confidence will be oozing heading into Enschede on Sunday afternoon after two successive wins in the Eredivisie. They aim for a third for the first time ever in their history, however, they will face a tough test against Twente, whose recent home form has tremendous.

Michel Jansen’s side are undefeated in their last ten games, including winning their last three, hitting the net 11 times and conceding just four.

Twente need to win by three clear goals for our bet to come in and I can see Quincy Promes, Luc Castaignos and Dusan Tadic have a field day of chances come Sunday afternoon.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Twente -2 (15/8 – Bet365)

NEC vs. GO AHEAD EAGLES – 13:30

Go Ahead Eagles have lost six of their last seven away matches in the league as NEC Nijmegen have won their last three home matches in Eredivisie. So everyone must be expecting a NEC win?! Not exactly.

My tip in this one is a draw. NEC fought hard to gain a draw away to second placed Vitesse last weekend, as Go Ahead were unlucky not to clinch a point in the 2-1 defeat at home to Ajax.

Eagles new goalkeeper Stephan Andersen will make his debut in replace for Eloy Room who returned back to parent club Vitesse earlier this week.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Draw (3/1 – Betfair, BetVictor & Bet365)

RKC WAALWIJK vs. PSV – 15:30

Apart from the long-term injury to Georginio Wijnaldum, Phillip Cocu has a full strength team heading to Waalwijk to face RKC in the final game of Week 21.

I can see PSV grabbing a narrow win in this one, but do not except many goals. In the last three games there has been under three goals in their last three games. They defeated AZ at home last weekend in a 1-0 win, defeated by Ajax the previous week by the same scoreline and before the winter break, overcoming ADO at the Philips Stadion 2-0.

On the other hand, RKC have drew their last three games at the Mandemakers Stadion and will look to stifle the PSV attack, which obviously works in our tips favour.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Under 2.5 Goals (5/4 – Ladbrokes)

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EREDIVISIE

Week 21 Eredivisie Report – Vitesse-Feyenoord draw, Ajax happy

February 1, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

FRIDAY 31ST JANUARY 2014

FEYENOORD 1-1 VITESSE

It was a dream result on Friday night at De Kuip for league leaders Ajax, as Vitesse dropped another two points in a draw against Feyenoord, which also virtually takes the Ronald Koeman’s side out of the title picture.

Vitesse’s returning captain Guram Kashia grabbed a vital point for his side in a high-octane entertaining match in Rotterdam.

The away side dominated the action early on and had the majority of the possession; however, it was Feyenoord, who took the lead on 39 minutes. It was the Italian Graziano Pellè once again getting the goal.

After some good build-up play and a blocked shot from Daryl Janmaat’s long-range effort the ball fell to young winger Jean-Paul Boëtius on the left-wing. The 19-year-old whipped a ball into the front post where the Italian popped up to head home.

In the second half, the roles were reversed – Guram Kashia carried the ball up the pitch with a marauding run. The ball was dished out to Renato Ibarra on the right-wing and his cross was headed home by Kashia, after he continued his run into the area.

In the final stages both teams had some good chances to earn a victory but were unable to break the deadlock.

TEAMS

FEYENOORD: Mulder, Janmaat (Van Beek 81), De Vrij, Kongolo, Martins Indi, Clasie, Immers, Vilhena, Armenteros (Schaken 66), Pellè, Boëtius (Goossens 81).

SUBS NOT USED: Graafland, Bakkal, Nelom, Te Verde.

GOALS: Pellè 39.

BOOKINGS: None

VITESSE: Velthuizen, Van Aanholt, Leerdam, Kashia, Van der Heijden, Pröpper, Vejinovic, Piazón, Atsu, Ibarra (Labyad 85), Havenaar (Traoré 59).

SUBS NOT USED: Room, Mori, Van der Struijk, Djurdjevic, Kazaishvili

GOALS: Kashia 57.

BOOKINGS: Leerdam, Vejinovic, Traoré.

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EREDIVISIE, NEWS, TRANSFERS

Introducing Zwolle new-boy Trent Sainsbury

January 31, 2014 Will Burns 1 Comment

PEC Zwolle today announced the signing of exciting young Aussie Trent Sainsbury from the Central Coast Mariners. The deal has been confirmed by both PEC and Mariners with the reported transfer fee being $AU350,000 (E225,000) with some provision for future bonuses for the Mariners. The bonus provision nearly apparently scuppered the deal due to some confusion about what entitlement the Football Federation Australia had to any future bonuses, but all was resolved in the end. He had less than 6 months left on his contract so the transfer fee is understandable.

So what are PEC getting for their money? Well the simple answer is that they are getting undoubtedly the most promising young defender from the A-League. At 22 years of age he has already played over 60 games at A-League and Asian Champions League level. He formed a formidable partnership with Patrick Zwaanswijk in the heart of the Mariners defence last season that lead the club to their first Championship and he was named in the Team of the Week 9 times throughout the season as well as in the Team of the Season. He was also runner-up in the Young Player of the Year Award, which was eventually won by Marco Rojas who has since joined Stuttgart. He has been capped numerous times for the Australian U/20 side.

Sainsbury is an imposing central defence player who is great in the air and with his head. He has a good understanding of the game coupled with great stamina and determination. He is known as a very laid-back character who likes to make a joke and this personality will fit in well into any dressing room. He trialed last season with Southampton and then came very close to signing with Basle in the off-season so this move can be viewed as a bit of a coup for PEC Zwolle.

The move to a ‘smaller’ Eredivisie club should provide him with the opportunity to get regular game time whilst not facing the pressures associated with joining a bigger club. PEC are having a good season and he should be joining a squad in good spirits. Hopefully he becomes a regular in PEC’s starting side with the lure of pressing for a World Cup place, particularly given the unfortunate injury to Rhys Williams from Middlesbrough this week.

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BETTING TIPS, EREDIVISIE, EREDIVISIE PREVIEW

EREDIVISIE WEEK 21 PREVIEW – Saturday

January 31, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

After a great 3/1 win with the Feyenoord-Vitesse draw prediction, Will Burns is back with his picks for Saturday and like all his tips, you will not see a ‘best bet’ under evens – good luck!

Saturday 1st February

HEERENVEEN vs. ADO DEN HAAG – 17:45

ADO head to Heerenveen full of confidence after their win over Feyenoord, while Marco van Basten’s men may be feeling a tad down after the head coach stated this week he will be not sticking around next season.

Under Van Basten, Heerenveen have never defeated ADO Den Haag and I’m predicting that the wait for the win will continue. I would except goals in this, especially with the fact that Heerenveen have conceded at least two goals in eight out of ten games, but also scored at least two goals in nine out of the last ten games.

If you’re feeling lucky opt for a 2-2 draw but I feel the best bet would be to stick with a draw at 18/5 at Unibet.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Draw (18/5 – Unibet)

PEC ZWOLLE vs. RODA JC – 18:45

Jon Dahl Tomasson’s Roda coming off a great 1-0 win last week against a struggling FC Utrecht side, head to Zwolle to face Ron Jans’ men who have failed to win in their last five games at the IJsseldelta Stadion.

Jans had to wait ten games to find an Eredivisie win which was the 2-1 away in Breda last round. Zwolle will be glad to ditch that stat and look to build their current ninth place into a run for European football qualification.

Tomasson has an in-form Guus Hupperts at his disposal and look for the young winger to try and get himself on the scoresheet again, he has scored four in the last six games from the right-wing. The best bet for me in this one is Under 2.5 Goals as I cannot see either team going for broke in this one.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Under 2.5 Goals (13/10 – BetVictor)

HERACLES vs. NAC BREDA – 18:45

Breda heads to Almelo after a great performance last weekend in a tight 2-1 defeat hosting Zwolle, while Heracles, undefeated in their last three games at home, defeated RKC 2-1 at Polman Stadion.

This game will provide goals and Bryan Linssen of Heracles is the man to watch. NAC Breda have conceded at least three goals in their last six away matches in Eredivisie. On this basis, the best bet seems to be a huge 17/10 at PaddyPower if you bet Heracles to be winning at half-time and full-time.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Heracles HT/FT (17/10 – PaddyPower)

AZ ALKMAAR vs. FC GRONINGEN – 19:45

FC Groningen’s game last week was postponed due to a frozen pitch as AZ’s miserable form continued losing in a 1-0 defeat at PSV. AZ Alkmaar have now lost five of their last six matches in the league.

Just one point splits these teams in the league and Groningen have only one win away from home in the last nine matches. I’m settling for a tied game at full-time on this one.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Draw (14/5 – Betfair)

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BETTING TIPS, EREDIVISIE, EREDIVISIE PREVIEW

EREDIVISIE WEEK 21 PREVIEW – Feyenoord vs. Vitesse

January 30, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

A big weekend of Eredivisie clashes in Week 21 starting with the huge title chasing clash between Feyenoord and Vitesse. Will Burns is here with a prediction and like all his tips, you will not see a ‘best bet’ under evens – good luck!

Friday 31st January

FEYENOORD vs. VITESSE – 19:00

Both sides will looking to bounce back from last week’s disappointing displays. Feyenoord were defeated 3-2 away to ADO and Vitesse were held to a 1-1 draw at home to relegation battlers NEC.

As Ajax overcome Go Ahead Eagles, the Amsterdammers are now two points ahead of Vitesse (41 pts) at the top of the league and will want to try to take out one of their rivals, Feyenoord (36 pts) on Friday night.

Vitesse, currently 2nd, have their captain Guram Kashia returning for the clash at De Kuip, while Feyenoord’s experienced defender Joris Mathijsen is missing due to an eye injury. Ronald Koeman has another injury worry as he may be without Tonny Vilhena with an ankle problem.

Vitesse are on a fantastic run and have not been defeated for 11 Eredivisie games now and travel to Feyenoord fully aware of the dangers ahead. Although, the last three matches have seen the Arnhem suffer a bit of a blip giving up a lead each time to draw twice and win once. Bosz’s men will have to be aware of the chances created by Feyenoord for Italian striker Graziano Pellè, who has scored 15 goals in 18 games in the league this season.

With both sides knowing that victory is only good enough for this one, there will be goals aplenty but I can see them cancelling each other out.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Draw (14/5 – BetVictor)

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