Tag Archives: Feyenoord

Week 27 Eredivisie Report: Ajax held, Twente slump, Feyenoord win.

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SC Cambuur held Ajax to a fantastic 1-1 draw in a game were the defending champions failed to really trouble the Eredivisie new boys. Feyenoord, minus Graziano Pelle, defeated Groningen 2-0 and FC Twente fell to Go Ahead Eagles in Deventer in an action-packed Sunday.

Sunday 9th March 2014

RKCADO

RKC WAALWIJK 1-1 ADO DEN HAAG

In a result that helped neither side, RKC and ADO drew 1-1 to share the points that does not help either in their relegation battle.

The visitors went ahead after an accurate cross from Dion Malone, Ronald Alberg was at the backpost to nod home his fourth goal of the season on 17 minutes.

The equaliser came just before half-time with Romeo Castelen breaking the offside trap and finishing perfectly past Gino Coutinho against the run of play.

TEAMS

RKC: Šeda, Apau, Van Weert, Van Hoevelen, Amieux, Sno, Braber, Duits, Castelen, Beauguel (Joachim 90+2), D. Schet.

SUBS NOT USED: Van Dijk, Ivens, Van Mosselveld, Anderson, Peltzer.

GOALS: Castelen 42.

BOOKINGS: Van Hoevelen 38, Braber 53.

ADO: Coutinho, Zuiverloon, Wormgoor, Beugelsdijk, Meijers, Malone, Holla (Bakker 66), Gehrt (Kanon 90+3), Alberg, Van Duinen, M. Schet.

SUBS NOT USED: Zwinkels, Merencia, Van Haaren, Kramer, Cabral5

GOALS: Alberg 17.

BOOKINGS: Holla 7, Beugelsdijk 31, Wormgoor 90+1. 

GoAheadTwente

GO AHEAD EAGLES 1-0 FC TWENTE

FC Twente trail three points behind Vitesse in third after a Jarchinio Antonia goal just after the half hour saw them beaten 1-0 by Go Ahead Eagles.

FC Twente, Nick Marsman, Go Ahead Eagles - FC Twente

After a cautious and quiet opening twenty minutes, the visitors should have taken the lead. However, when striker Luc Castaignos was played through on goal by Jorge Corona, he dragged his effort wide of the post when it would have been easier to play the free Dušan Tadić in at the opposite post.

The only goal of the game was scored by Jarchinio Antonia just after the half-hour mark after an error from Felipe Gutiérrez. The Chilean dwelled on the ball and was robbed by Erik Falkenburg and the on-loan AZ man played in Antonia on the right-wing. Antonia hit a low drive from an acute angle that went through goalkeeper Nick Marsman’s legs and into the net.

After the interval, Twente pushed for goals knowing that a win was a must to keep up in the Champions League qualification race.

However, chances for Quincy Promes, Tadić and further from Castaignos went begging and the lacklustre Twente failed to create the goal to clinch even a point.

TEAMS

GO AHEAD: Andersen, Schmidt, Vriends, Van der Linden, Schenk (Haps 76), Overgoor, Türüç, Rijsdijk, Antonia, Falkenburg (Kolder 90), Houtkoop (Godee 69).

SUBS NOT USED: Ter Mate, Amevor, Azevedo, Lambooij.

GOALS: Antonia 33.

BOOKINGS: None.

TWENTE: Marsman, Rosales, Martina, Bjelland, Koppers, Ebecilio, Promes, Gutiérrez, Tadić, Castaignos, Corona (Mokhtar 63).

SUBS NOT USED: Stevens, Schilder, Djordjevic, Hölscher, Röseler, Martina.

GOALS: None.

BOOKINGS: Castaignos 69.

GroningenFeyenoord

FC GRONINGEN 0-2 FEYENOORD

Feyenoord track Twente in fourth by a just a single point now after a 2-0 win away at FC Groningen without star striker Graziano Pelle, as the Italian begins a four-game suspension.

New club captain Jordy Clasie lead the team out after replacing Pelle this past week and his side were a goal up after just 15 minutes.

Ruben Schaken finished a lovely move after breaking free from the Groningen defenders when Tonny Vilhena lofted a deft ball over the hosts backline.

In a rare goal, defender Stefan De Vrij completed a comfortable win four minutes after the break. After the Groningen defence failed to clear a free-kick that bobbled around the area, De Vrij hit the loose ball into the ground and made it 2-0.

TEAMS

GRONINGEN: Bizot, Hateboer, Botteghin, Kappelhof, Burnet (Kirm 75), Hiariej (Zivkovic 45), Lindgren, Chery, Van der Velden (Adorjan 62), Zeefuik, Kostic.

SUBS NOT USED: Van der Lei, Magnasco, Wijnaldum, Van Nieff.

GOALS: None.

BOOKINGS: Chery 67.

FEYENOORD: Mulder, Van Beek, De Vrij, Mathijsen, Martins Indi, Kongolo, Clasie, Immers, Vilhena (Vormer 86), Schaken, Te Vrede (Boëtius 66).

SUBS NOT USED: Lamprou, Nelom, Bakkal, Goossens, Armenteros.

GOALS: Schaken 15, De Vrij 49.

BOOKINGS: None.

AjaxCambuur

AJAX 1-1 SC CAMBUUR

Ajax’s lead at the top of the Eredivisie has been cut to six points after the defending champions were held to a 1-1 draw by SC Cambuur at the Amsterdam Arena.

Ajax komt niet verder dan 1-1 tegen Cambuur

The Amsterdam outfit came into the weekend with an eight-point cushion at the top but Vitesse’s win against NAC Breda on Saturday evening applied the pressure and Frank de Boer’s men could not respond.

The hosts got off to a good start as Siem De Jong gave the Amsterdammers the lead after just two minutes. After youngster left-winger Ricardo Kishna robbed Wout Droeste of the ball high up the pitch, Kishna whipped the ball into De Jong in the area to finish.

One would imagine with such an early goal that the heavens would open however, this was not the case. Cambuur were resilient and kept Ajax at bay even though the in-form Lasse Schöne returned in the side replacing Barca’s on-loanee Bojan Krkic.

The visitor’s main threat was a player that belongs to Ajax, Jody Lukoki. With his lightening quick pace, he caused the Ajax defenders many problems that needed to be cut out early before he tested goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen.

Cambuur should have been level on 36 minutes after Marcel Ritzmaier placed a perfect corner in for the unmarked Mohamed El Makrini, but the midfielder could not get his header on target and it was a huge let-off for De Boer’s men.

As the game went on Cambuur looked the most likely to score but Cillessen pulled off some great stops to save his side. The away side were threatening from long range efforts with Ritzmaier and half-time substitute Michiel Hemmen lashing most of the shots at the goalkeeper.

The inevitable came as Martijn Barto levelled things up on 53 minutes for 11th-placed Cambuur. The marking at a corner was once again poor by Ajax as another Ritzmaier ball was placed perfectly on the head of the unmarked Barto to nod home.

Ajax had to step it up a gear as the 52,000 fans inside the Amsterdam Arena became restless but Cambuur keeper Leonard Nienhuis held firm and was involved in an unique decision by referee Danny Makkelie. With just ten minutes to go, Makkelie awarded a free-kick inside the Cambuur penalty area as the goalkeeper was adjudged to be time-wasting and held onto the ball for more than the allowed six seconds. Luckily for the Cambuur stopper, Kolbeinn Sigthórsson effort was deflected wide of the goal.

Ajax’s pressure in the last ten minutes was too little, too late and Frank de Boer and the Amsterdam crowd had to settle for the point.

TEAMS

AJAX: Cillessen, Van Rhijn, Veltman, Moisander, Riedewald (Poulsen 72), Klaassen, Blind, Serero, Schöne (Sigthórsson 60), De Jong, Kishna (Bojan 51).

SUBS NOT USED: Vermeer, Duarte, Denswil, De Sa.

GOALS: De Jong 2.

BOOKINGS: None.

CAMBUUR: Nienhuis, Droste, Leeuwin, Van der Laan, Bijker, El Makrini (Mulders 84), Van Moorsel (Dijkstra 78), Ritzmaier, Lukoki, Barto, Manu (Hemmen 45).

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

GOALS: Barto 53.

BOOKINGS: Ritzmaier 41, Leeuwin 79, Barto 90+3, Lukoki 90+4.

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Feyenoord strip Pellè of captaincy

Team-Feyenoord

Feyenoord have stripped controversial Italian hothead Graziano Pellè of the club captaincy and have also stated that the striker will not be considered for selection in their next two games against FC Groningen and Heerenveen. Jordy Clasie will lead the team out with the captain’s armband in the future.

20140302 - Graziano Pelle

A statement on Feyenoord.nl said: “Feyenoord have removed the captaincy from Graziano Pellè. Also, the striker will not be available for selection in Feyenoord’s next two games. These measures were taken on Monday and made known to Pellè and his team-mates.”

The KNVB handed Pellè a one-match ban suspended for a year after he was caught on camera (see video below) in a vicious outburst, kicking the dugout following his side’s 2-2 draw with FC Twente last weekend.

Pelle was selected in Sunday’s ‘De Klassieker’ with Ajax and scored the opening goal but Feyenoord were eventually defeated 2-1. Video replays showed during the game that the Italian was lucky not to be sent off after he appeared to strike Ajax defender Joël Veltman with an elbow in the second half. Referee for the match, Bjorn Kuipers, did not witness the incident and the KNVB have yet to announce whether they will take retrospective action or not.

After the game, the Italian was involved in a highly confrontational interview at pitchside with FOX Sports presenter Jan Joost van Gangelen, and the striker completely lost his cool.

Watch the full interview in the video below.

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Week 26 Eredivisie Report: Ajax take charge and win De Klassieker

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Ajax have almost wrapped up their fourth Eredivisie title in a row with a 2-1 win at De Kuip against bitter rivals Feyenoord in the 176th De Klassieker writes Will Burns.

Sunday 2nd March 2014

UtrechtTwente

FC UTRECHT 1-1 FC TWENTE

The title hopes of FC Twente have all but ended after they failed to defeat FC Utrecht on Sunday.

The visitors began the game well and took the lead through the in-form winger Quincy Promes. After the Utrecht defence failed to clear a cross, Norwegian striker Torgeir Børven nodded the ball to back post so that Promes could lash home a half volley into the roof of the net.

The equaliser came seconds after the restart with Australian Tommy Oar scoring his first goal for Utrecht with a great solo effort.

Utrecht are now four points clear from the relegation zone, while Twente climb back up into the Champions League qualifying spot.

TEAMS

UTRECHT: Ruiter, Van der Maarel, Markiet, Delpierre, Dorda, Martensson, Ayoub (Diemers 81), Sarota, Toornstra, Oar, De Ridder.

SUBS NOT USED: Verhoeven, Velzen, Quesada, Bjelica, Agudelo, Klaiber.

GOALS: Oar 46.

BOOKINGS: Van der Maarel 24, Toornstra 69.

TWENTE: Marsman, Rosales, Martina, Bjelland, Koppers, Ebecilio, Tadić, Promes, Gutierrez, Castaignos, Børven (Corona 72).

SUBS NOT USED: Stevens, Mokhtar, Breukers, Eghan, Schilder, Roseler.

GOALS: Promes 18.

BOOKINGS: Koppers 19, Ebecilio 69.

FeyenoordAjax

FEYENOORD 1-2 AJAX

Frank de Boer’s Ajax failed to suffer a Europa League hangover to clinch a vital 2-1 win in the De Klassieker on Sunday afternoon. The win virtually eliminates all the other title challengers as Ajax now sit eight points clear at the top of the Eredivisie.

Ajax, Feyenoord - Ajax, Ricardo Kishna

Ronald Koeman’s men suffered a fatal blow in the title race as Feyenoord failed to hold onto a goal lead and Ajax now look set to clinch their fourth consecutive Eredivisie championship.

Ajax, Feyenoord, Graziano Pellè, Joël Veltman, Feyenoord - Ajax

De Kuip was full to capacity for the 176th Klassieker which saw a great opening goal from Graziano Pellè on the half-hour. The Italian, who was granted permission to play by the KNVB after having a one-match ban for his outburst at Twente last week suspended for a year, powerfully nodded home a Bruno Martins Indi cross for his 19th league goal of the season.

Ajax got back into it and the sides went in level at half-time. Icelandic striker Kolbeinn Sigthórsson equalised on the stroke of half-time after an excellent run into the area from Ricardo Kishna.

Ajax completed their comeback on 72 minutes courtesy of central defender Joël Veltman, who fired home from a scramble after a Lerin Duarte corner.

Ajax are now unbeaten for 14 games in the league and look set to retain their title. Feyenoord, on the other hand, now sit in fourth, four points adrift of second place, which they will need if they dream of Champions League football next year.

After the game, Pelle was interviewed by FOX Sports reporter Jan Joost van Gangelen – if you have not heard about it, it is controversial, click here to read more and view the video.

TEAMS

FEYENOORD: Mulder, Janmaat, De Vrij, Kongolo, Martins Indi, Vilhena, Immers, Clasie (Vormer 78), Boëtius (Goossens 86), Schaken (Te Verde 76), Pellè.

SUBS NOT USED: Lamprou, Mathijsen, Van Beek, Verhoek.

GOALS: Pellè 30.

BOOKINGS: Clasie 50, Te Vrede 77.

AJAX: Cillessen, Van Rhijn, Veltman, Moisander, Blind, Serero (Duarte 64), Polusen, Klaassen, De Jong, Kishna (De Sa 79), Bojan (Sigthórsson 38).

SUBS NOT USED: Vermeer, Riedewald, Denswil, Andersen.

GOALS: Sigthorsson 45, Veltman 72.

BOOKINGS: Veltman 89.

GroningenCambuur

FC GRONINGEN 1-1 SC CAMBUUR

In horrible conditions inside the Euroborg, FC Groningen and SC Cambuur shared the points in a 1-1 draw.

SC Cambuur, FC Groningen, Paco van Moorsel, Johan Kappelhof, FC Groningen - SC Cambuur

The pitch was heavily waterlogged which left the teams taking to the air when creating chances, however, we had to wait until the second half for goals.

A counter attack brought the first goal just five minutes after the interval when Tjaronn Chery tapped home after from a great run down the left wing by Filip Kostic.

However, the game ended a draw after Elvis Manu, on-loan from Feyenoord, notched a spot-kick on 77 minutes. Referee Kevin Blom had deemed Johan Kappelkof has handballed Jody Lukoki’s cross.

TEAMS

GRONINGEN: Bizot, Hateboer, Burnet, Kapplehof, Botteghin, Hiariej (Van der Velden 79), Kieftenbeld, De Leeuw (Kirm 57), Chery, Kostic, Zeefuik (Zivkovic 83).

SUBS NOT USED: Lei, Van Neiff, Wijnladum, Lindgren.

GOALS: Chery 50.

BOOKINGS: De Leeuw 26, Hiariej 60, Kirm 75, Hateboer 80, Kieftenbeld 90.

CAMBUUR: Nienhuis, Droeste, Leeuwin (Van Boxel 45), Laan, Bijker, Ritzmaier, El Makrini, Van Moorsel (Hemmen 64), Lukoki (Van Brakel 89), Manu, Barto.

SUBS NOT USED: Schepers, Zeinstra, Pereira, Mulders.

GOALS: Manu 77P.

BOOKINGS: Van Moorsel 58.

AZRKCWaalwijk

AZ ALKMAAR 4-0 RKC WAALWIJK

In the final game of the weekend, Dick Adovcaat’s AZ Alkmaar thumped RKC Waalwijk 4-0 at the AFAS Stadion.

AZ, AZ - RKC Waalwijk

The hosts found themselves in front after just nine minutes thanks to defender Jeffrey Gouweleeuw‘s first goal of the season.

Advocaat’s side managed to double their advantage with Nick Viergever adding a second in the 20th minute. This was his third goal in four games for the big central defender.

The lead was extended after the interval with Steven Berghuis doing the damage, scoring in the 48th and 59th minutes to help secure the convincing victory.

With the win, AZ are in seventh and improve their tally to 37 points, while RKC Waalwijk are in the drop zone, two points adrift to safety.

TEAMS

AZ: Esteban, Johansson, Gouweleeuw, Viergever, Poulsen, Gudelj, Ortiz (Gorter 63), Elm, Beerens (Gudmundsson 68), Berghuis (Haye 79), Jóhannsson.

SUBS NOT USED: De Winter, Hoedt, Lewis, Reijnen.

GOALS: Gouweleeuw 9, Viergever 20, Berghuis 48 & 59.

BOOKINGS: Gorter 70.

RKC: Šeda, Lamey, Hoevelen, Mosselveld, Amieux, Braber, Anderson (Peltzer 85), Sno, Joachim (Jungschläger 71), Castelen (Beauguel 74), Schet.

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

GOALS: None.

BOOKINGS: Lamey 39, Anderson 75.

Click here to view our Eredivisie page with the league standings, next fixtures and top scorers.

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EREDIVISIE WEEK 26 – SUNDAY PREVIEW & BETTING TIPS

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Will Burns has nailed TEN OUT OF LAST TEN tips and after making a lot of people rich he’s back with his selections for the Eredivisie for Sunday’s games and like all his tips, you will not see a ‘best bet’ under evens – good luck!

Sunday 2nd March

UtrechtTwente

FC UTRECHT vs. FC TWENTE (11:30 GMT)

Last weekend, a narrow 1-0 win over FC Groningen stopped an unwanted eight game winless streak for Jan Wouters’ FC Utrecht, but today they face a stern test in second-place FC Twente.

Ajax are six points ahead of Twente, so Michel Jansen needs to pick up wins especially as the Amsterdammers face Feyenoord this weekend, to put some pressure back on Frank de Boer.

I can see Twente winning this comfortably, they currently have the best player in the league in Serbian playmaker Dušan Tadić, who has been on fire since the turn of the year. Place him supply Quincy Promes and Luc Castaignos and I cannot see Utrecht handling that three-pronged attack.

Look for Twente to win by at least two goals at a massive 7/4 with Bet Victor.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Twente -1 (7/4 – BetVictor)

FeyenoordAjax

FEYENOORD vs. AJAX (13:30 GMT)

In the De Klassieker on Sunday afternoon, Feyenoord host Ajax in a true six pointer. With Ronald Koeman knowing that a win would take them within six points of the leaders.

Ajax displayed two horror shows in Europe with a 3-0 home defeat to Salzburg and losing 3-1 in  the return leg in Austria, which showed some weaknesses that De Boer must deal with. The 4-0 win over AZ Alkmaar last weekend domestically will be thrown the out the window come Sunday.

The Amsterdammers head into the cauldron known as De Kuip, and the partisan Rotterdam crowd will be even louder for this match which is one of the most heated rivals in world football.

The defending champions are depleted with first-team stars like Lasse Schöne, Thulani Serero and Viktor Fischer missing through injury. De Boer will be hoping Lerin Duarte and Bojan (on-loan from Barcelona) step up their game after disappointing campaign so far, although Duarte’s two goals last weekend has gone some way in repaying his manager.

I feel Feyenoord will nick this with a narrow victory. Graziano Pelle is still scoring consistently, the bite of Jordy Clasie in the midfield could silence the attempts of Davy Klaassen. The Ajax defence may be too occupied by Pelle to give Jean-Paul Boëtius, Ruben Schaken, Lex Immers attention and the temptation to shoot on sight may give Japser Cillessen in goal a hard day in the Ajax goal.

It could be the two legs like the Salzburg games, relived for Frank de Boer. Feyenoord to win is 6/5 at Betfair and that is a price we cannot ignore.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Feyenoord to win (6/5 – Betfair)

GroningenCambuur

FC GRONINGEN vs. SC CAMBUUR (13:30 GMT)

SC Cambuur have failed to win their last 12 away matches in Eredivisie, but today I feel it changes. After viewing their last few games, they look a real attacking threat going forward.

FC Groningen are experiencing a poor season with just one win in six games, which was an uninspiring 1-0 home win over Go Ahead Eagles. Last weekend, they helped FC Utrecht end their winless streak as mentioned earlier, so it is safe to say, they are not playing well.

I see Cambuur finally getting the away win and at a HUGE 14/5 offered at Bet365, this win could be massively profitable for anyone gambling on it.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Cambuur to win (14/5 – Bet365)

AZRKCWaalwijk

AZ ALKMAAR vs. RKC WAALWIJK (15:30 GMT)

AZ are the last remaining Eredivisie side in Europe after eliminating Czech side Slovan Liberec midweek so they may be a little tired when hosting RKC Waalwijk on Sunday.

I look at the goals in this game and especially at RKC Waalwijk. Although Dick Advocaat’s side are not great scorers in 2014, only 11 goals scored in eight games I see Over 3.5 Goals in this game mainly due to RKC’s record in the last few games.

RKC coach Erwin Koeman announced this week he would be stepping down as manager at the end of this season so this may affect he team and help AZ’s goal tally. There has been at least four goals in all the last four RKC games. Drawing 2-2 with Go Ahead, they defeated Utrecht 5-2, they were then turned over 3-1 by NEC and last weekend, handed a 3-1 loss by Vitesse.

Our best bet will see this run continue into the fifth game with Over 3.5 Goals valued at 11/8 by our friends at BetVictor.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Over 3.5 Goals (11/8 – Bet Victor)

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Week 25 Eredivisie Report: Ajax bounce back

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Ajax are now six points clear at the top of the Eredivisie after Twente and Feyenoord cancelled each other out in a 2-2 draw and the Amsterdammers battered AZ Alkmaar 4-0.

Sunday 23rd February 2014

Utrecht-Groningen

FC UTRECHT 1-0 FC GRONINGEN

Jan Wouters’ Utrecht won their first game in nine with a late Johan Martensson strike in a game that they deserved all three points.

FC Utrecht, Fernando Quesada, FC Utrecht - FC Groningen

In what was a lacklustre opening half, it was Groningen that could have easily opened the scoring had it not be for Utrecht stopper Robbin Ruiter, named man of the match, saving his side.

Just after the interval the hosts had a golden opportunity to take the lead. After Michael de Leeuw had slided in the box to stop a Steve de Ridder shot, the ball ricocheted and stopped in the box by the Groningen man’s hand. Referee Ed Janssen pointed to the spot and De Ridder smashed the resultant kick off the crossbar.

Midway through the second period, Utrecht started to press and looked the more likely to score especially as Jens Toornstra had a chance to score a trademark free-kick, but again hit the woodwork.

As Utrecht attacked, Groningen would get the odd chance to run on the counter but failed to breach Ruiter’s goal as Tjarron Chery then hit the post with just six minutes remaining.

The Stadion Galgenwaard erupted on 88 minutes as the crowd finally saw their team win at the fifth attempt with a long range effort from Johan Martensson. After good work from Toornstra and Tommy Oar combining, Steve de Ridder ended up dishing the ball out to the Swedish midfielder to rifle past Marco Bizot.

The win takes Utrecht up to 13th and gives Wouters a bit of relief from the pressure he has been under as of late. He will look to build on this result next when high-flying FC Twente arrive next Sunday.

TEAMS

UTRECHT: Ruiter, Klaiber (Bjelica 74), Markiet, Delpierre, Dorda, Toornstra, Sarota (Quesada 82), Diemers (Martensson 69), De Ridder, Oar, Agudelo.

SUBS NOT USED: Verhoeven, Cortie, Badjeck, Abena.

GOALS: Martensson 88.

BOOKINGS: Delpierre 27, Oar 65, Agudelo 66.

GRONINGEN: Bizot, Burnet, Botteghin, Hateboer, Kappelhof, Kieftenbeld, Van Nieff (Hiariej 64), De Leeuw (Zeefuik 82), Chery, Kostić, Adorjan (Van der Velden 64).

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

GOALS: None.

BOOKINGS: De Leeuw 47, Hateboer 83.

Ajax-AZ

AJAX 4-0 AZ ALKMAAR

After the horror showing on Thursday night in a 3-0 loss to Red Bull Salzburg, Ajax got back to winning ways thumping Dick Advocaat’s AZ Alkmaar by four goals to nil.

Ajax, AZ, Markus Henriksen, Ajax - AZ

The Amsterdammers, obviously itching to repay their fans, were ahead after just four minutes. Daley Blind spied Ricardo van Rhijn sprinting down the right-wing and from there the full-back’s ball into the feet of Siem de Jong ended up in the net.

The hosts suffered a blow on 10 minutes when Viktor Fischer pulled up with a hamstring injury. He was replaced by 20-year-old winger Lesly de Sa.

Advocaat’s men could have equalised minutes later after Victor Elm crossed for Marcus Henriksen but the Norweigan was denied by the feet of Jasper Cillessen. Ajax nearly ended their lead on the half-hour but Lerin Duarte’s free-kick from the edge of the area crept just wide.

After the break, the disappointing Bojan, on-loan from Barcelona was replaced by the highly-rated Ricardo Kishna, a 19-year-old that made his debut as a substitute in Thursday’s Europa League defeat.

The youngster quickly made an impact being involved in the second goal. On 54 minutes, after recieving Blind’s ball, Kishna controlled and carried into the box, laid the ball into De Jong who flicked it Lerin Duarte to score with ease.

Just after the hour mark, Ricardo Kishna notched himself and it was some goal on his Eredivisie debut. On the left side of the area, he burst past Mathias Johansson and fired the shot across the goal to give Costa Rican goalkeeper Esteban no chance.

Duarte notched his second to finish the scoring on 74 mintues with an excellent solo effort that he finished by blasting into the roof of the net.

Ajax will be hard to catch on this performance which was a vast improvement on Thursday showing. They now travel to Salzburg this week to try overcome the three goal deficit.

TEAMS

AJAX: Cillessen, Van Rhijn, Veltman, Moisander, Blind; Klaassen, Poulsen, Duarte, Bojan (Kishna 46), De Jong (Sigthórsson 70), Fischer (De Sa 12).

SUBS NOT USED: Vermeer, Andersen, Denswil, Riedewald.

GOALS: De Jong 4, Duarte 54, 74, Kishna 60.

BOOKINGS: De Sa 26.

AZ: Esteban, Viergever, Reijnen (Poulsen 46), Gouweleeuw, Wuytens (Jóhannson 46), Elm, Henriksen, Ortiz (Haye 70), Jóhannsson, Berghuis, Beerens.

SUBS NOT USED: De Winter, Gorter, Gudmundsson, Avdic.

GOALS: None.

BOOKINGS: Ortiz 40, Elm 84.

Vitesse-RKC

VITESSE 3-1 RKC WAALWIJK

Peter Bosz will be a relieved man after finally watching his Vitesse side end their winless run of five games with a 3-1 victory over RKC Waalwijk.

Interventions Leaf delivered Vitesse win against RKC again

Vitesse have slipped off the pace in the race for the Eredivisie championship in recent weeks, and found themselves trailing at the break to the relegation-troubled RKC.

Former Celtic midfielder Evander Sno spotted Kenny Anderson making a darting run and played a perfect through ball and Anderson kept his cool to finish past Piet Velthuizen after 14 minutes.

The first half petered out and it was a disappointing show by the hosts that needed a double substitution of Renato Ibarra and Valeri Qazaishvili to make the RKC defence fall to pieces.

The scores were level in the 50th minute. Making his debut for Vitesse since his move from PEC Zwolle in the winter transfer window, Ronald Achenteh whipped in a ball towards the front post from the left wing. Mike Havanaar got in front of Prince Gouano to deliver a sliding finish to make it one goal apiece.

Two minutes later, the game was totally turnaround and Vitesse were 2-1 up. Valeri Qazaishvili spun a beautiful curling left footer past Jan Šeda to send the home crowd wild. RKC manager Erwin Koeman had saw all three points slip away in a matter of minutes.

The third and final goal was taken well by young Chelsea on-loan midfielder Christian Atsu with his third goal of the season. Great link-up play by Ibarra and Davy Pröpper saw the latter force a block from his shot which fell perfectly for Atsu at the back post to volley home with great composure.

A great win for Vitesse and a relief for Bosz, they now face the challenge of trying to claw back Ajax’s eight points lead they have over them.

TEAMS

VITESSE: Velthuizen, Van der Struijk, Kashia (Ibarra 46), Van der Heijden, Achenteh, Pröpper, Vejinovic, Atsu, Labyad, Havenaar (Djurdjevic 89), Traoré (Qazaishvili 46).

SUBS NOT USED: Room, Mori, Piazón, Vink.

GOALS: Havenaar 50, Qazaishvili 52, Atsu 68.

BOOKINGS: None

RKC: Šeda, Van Hoevelen, Amieux, Gouano (Van Weert 72), Lamey, Duits, Anderson, Sno, Castelen, De Ridder, Schet (Beauguel 65).

SUBS NOT USED: Van Dijk, Van Mosselveld, Joachim, Braber, Apau.

GOALS: Anderson 14.

BOOKINGS: Van Weert 78, Duits 91.

Twente-Feyenoord

FC TWENTE 2-2 FEYENOORD

FC Twente fought back from 2-0 down against Feyenoord at De Grolsch Veste in the final game of Week 25 to draw 2-2, which is a result that neither team wanted in the title race.

Feyenoord geeft zege in Enschede in slotseconde weg

The hosts created a glorious opportunity to take the lead after just six minutes of play but unfortunately Quincy Promes failed to wear his shooting boots. Great technical play in the middle of the park by Dušan Tadić found Luc Castaignos down the right. The striker fired a low cross across the goalmouth by Promes, arriving at the back post, fluffed the finished and scuffed his effort wide of Erwin Mulder’s post.

Feyenoord took the lead after the 14th minute and it was Graziano Pellè once again with the goal, making it his 19th of the Eredivisie campaign. Jean-Paul Boëtius, a threat throughout the game, whipped the ball in low to the Italian’s feet, Pellè flicked the ball up,  spun and fired a left footed volley past Nick Marsman. An excellent finish with tremendous technique from a man, that would be worthy of gracing his presence the Italian national side in this form.

The visitors were upset that referee Serdar Gözübüyük did awarded them a penalty for a Rasmus Bengtsson handball on 21 minutes, but video replays showed it was more ball to hand rather than hand to ball.

In the second half, Feyenoord found a second from Jean-Paul Boëtius on 55 minutes. After a tremendous dribble from Terrence Kongolo down the left wing he over-hit his cross that ended up on the right wing with Ruben Schaken. Schaken played in Immers in the area, and the midfielder teed it up for Boëtius to smash home from the edge of the box.

The goal woke up Twente and immediately they pressed for goals. Promes found Luc Castaignos with a through ball on 68 minutes, and the young striker powered a right footed effort into Mulder’s near post.

Twente pressed for the levelling goal but missed many shots, failing to hit target. However, after Castaignos, Promes and Norwegian substitute Torgeir Borven was unable to test Mulder, it was a Promes corner that provided the equaliser five minutes into injury time. Whipping a vicious testing ball in the area, the Feyenoord defence failed to clear and the opportunity fell perfectly for Cuco Martino to fire a low drive past Mulder to send the stadium into raptures.

Neither team could afford to draw this game in the title race, and they now face even more of an uphill struggle to catch Ajax now.

TEAMS

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

SUBS NOT USED: Stevens, Schilder, Djordjevic, Corona, Roseler, Martina, Børven.

GOALS: None.

BOOKINGS: None

FEYENOORD: Mulder, Janmaat, Kongolo, De Vrij, Mathijsen, Clasie, Immers, Vilhena, Boëtius, Schaken, Pellè.

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

GOALS: Pellè 14.

BOOKINGS: None.

Click here to view the Eredivisie league table, next fixtures and top scorers.

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EREDIVISIE WEEK 25 – SUNDAY PREVIEW & BETTING TIPS

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

Sunday 23rd February

Utrecht-Groningen

FC UTRECHT vs. FC GRONINGEN (11:30 GMT)

How many weeks now have I been writing that Jan Wouters is under pressure? This weekend means no different when FC Groningen visit the Stadion Galgenwaard.

Although, Utrecht have defeated Groningen their last five home matches against them in all competitions, I cannot see Wouters’ leading them to a victory today. The hosts have yet to win a game in 2014 and their last win came in a 2-0 away win at Cambuur in December.

However, Groningen have not win away in five games but ended five games without a win last weekend hosting Go Ahead Eagles. Look for Erwin van de Looi to lead his side to another win on Sunday morning and at 11/5, the price offered by Bet Victor, this is bet that cannot be ignored.

BURNS’ BEST BET: FC Groningen to win (11/5 – BetVictor) – Click here to bet on this market and receive up to £25 in free bets.

Ajax-AZ

AJAX vs. AZ ALKMAAR (13:30 GMT)

After suffering a humiliating and demoralising 3-0 defeat in Europe this week at the hands of Red Bull Salzburg, Frank de Boer has the task of motivating Ajax to a win against AZ Alkmaar at the Amsterdam Arena on Sunday afternoon.

De Boer’s men were run ragged by Salzburg whose high defensive line and ultra-pressure did not give Ajax time to think on Thursday. Although, Ajax have found their game in ten wins of their last 12 Eredivisie matches, however, the Amsterdammers were held to a 2-2 home draw to AZ last season.

AZ Alkmaar hope not to be suffering from the travel to the Czech Republic on Thursday where they picked up in a late 1-0 win against Slovan Liberec. How will Thursday’s defeat affect Ajax’s play and AZ’s tactics is set to be seen on Sunday come kick off? Last week’s hat-trick hero Lasse Schone is out with ankle ligament injury for an unknown time and he will be a big miss to the hosts. I think 7/2 at Betfair for a draw in this game looks too good to miss here.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Draw (7/2 – Betfair) – Click here to bet on this market.

Vitesse-RKC

VITESSE vs. RKC WAALWIJK (13:30 GMT)

Peter Bosz’s Vitesse were flying-high before the winter break but the Arnhem side are currently experiencing a run of five games without a win, gaining just two points from a possible fifteen. On Sunday, they face the visit of RKC Waalwijk who are fighting for their lives just two points off the drop zone.

There has been Under 2.5 Goals in the last five Vitesse games but Bosz’s men need to pick up points soon if they wish to catch Ajax, who are seven points clear.  I think Vitesse will win and there will be goals. Also, RKC are well capable of notching with 12 goals in the last six games so I see Over 3.5 Goals as the best bet in this game.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Over 3.5 Goals (23/20 – Bet365) – Click here to bet on this market and get up to £200 in free bets.

Twente-Feyenoord

FC TWENTE vs. FEYENOORD (15:30 GMT)

The main event of the weekend is a true six pointer at the De Grolsch Veste as second play third when Twente host Feyenoord. Michel Jansen’s men are three points clear of their opponents in second, which earns a spot in the Champions League qualifying round and with 10 games left to play, this game proves vital for both sides.

The Enschede outfit have been defeated just one of their last 13 matches in the league, a 3-2 loss at PSV on February 8th, and will take some confidence from Feyenoord’s record of having won just two of their last five. Twente celebrated a 4-1 victory when the sides met in Rotterdam earlier in the season, and will see this as a pivotal week in their campaign as they bid to reduce the four-point deficit to leaders Ajax.

Undefeated at home this season, the odds weigh in the favour of Twente in this clash, but Ronald Koeman’s Feyenoord are in good away form clinching ten points from a possible fifteen. It is make or break for both sides today and I cannot pick a winner but with two most potent attacks in the Eredivisie this game promises goals. Let’s get on Over 3.5 Goals for the bet and enjoy watching this one.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Over 3.5 Goals (31/20 – BetVictor)

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Week 24 Eredivisie Report: Schöne treble as Ajax pull clear

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Ajax pulled four points clear of second-placed FC Twente thanks to a Lasse Schöne hat-trick in the 3-0 win over Heerenveen. Down at the bottom, Cambuur gained a vital 3-1 over Zwolle as title-chasing Feyenoord were held to a draw away to NAC Breda.

Sunday 16th February 2014

Cambuur-PECZwolle

SC CAMBUUR 3-1 PEC ZWOLLE

Some atrocious defending from Ron Jans’ PEC Zwolle cost them as Cambuur clinched yet another win at home to lift them out of the bottom three.

Cambuur confirms strong home form with victory at PEC

It was an excellent first half for Dwight Lodeweges’s side who found themselves two goals to the good at the break. The first came after just nine minutes with Austrian midfielder Marcel Ritzmaier scoring with an excellent chip. Mohamed El Makrini picked up the ball in midfield and spotted Ritzmaier running down the left wing. The midfielder, on-loan from PSV, received the pass and skipped past Giovanni Gravenbeek to run through on goal. Zwolle goalkeeper Diederik Boer rushed out to close Ritzmaier down, but the Austrian delicately lobbed the ball into the empty net. The Cambuur Stadion erupted in delight as Ritzmaier celebrated with teammates at the corner flag.

Zwolle could not find their rhythm against the relentless and resilient hosts and five minutes before half-time the lead was doubled. Again, the defending from the visitors was awful. Jody Lukoki had plenty time to float in a cross from the right-wing with Martijn Barto and Elvis Manu queuing in the box to attack. Unmarked Manu failed to get his shot off and as Zwolle’s Bram van Polen and Joost Broerse unsuccessfully cleared the ball, Barto finished with ease. Jans was not happy on the bench obviously getting psyched up for his team-talk at the interval.

It could have been worse for the visitors a few minutes before the break after a good Cambuur counter attack. However, Ritzmaier lacked composure this time round and blasted his effort over the crossbar when he was one-on-one with Boer.

Unfortunately for Zwolle’s travelling fans, the trip did not get any better in the second half. Six minutes in, Broerse’s nightmare continued only half clearing a corner with a weak header and the ball landed to the feet of Barto again. The striker, who was told by Lodeweges he was surplus to requirements in January, did not hesitate and hit a first time volley past Boer to make it three and will not two easier goals in the Eredivisie.

There was time for the away side to get a consolation goal with Polish midfielder Mateusz Klich notching on the edge of the box on 78 minutes.

Once again, Cambuur proved they can hold their own in this league and with such an encouraging performance one has to think they should add more pressure to Jon Dahl Tomasson next Saturday. The Dane brings his Roda side to the Cambuurstadion in a vital relegation battle, as today’s victors, Cambuur will look for victory again to retain their status in the Eredivisie.

TEAMS

CAMBUUR: Nienhuis, Leeuwin, Van der Laan, Droste, El Makrini, Bakker (Van Moorsel 83), Ritzmaier, Bijker, Barto (Christovao 90+3), Lukoki (Schepers 73), Manu.

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

GOALS: Ritzmaier 9, Barto 40, 51.

BOOKINGS: Lukoki 66, El Makrini 70.

ZWOLLE: Boer, Van Polen, Broerse (Pereira 73), Van Hintum, Klich, Gravenbeek (Van der Werff 45), Karagounis, Saymak, Thomas, Fernandez (Mahmudov 46), Drost.

SUBS NOT USED: Begois, Nijland, Hiwat, Patricio.

GOALS: Klich 78.

BOOKINGS: Broerse 10, Van Polen 66, Karagounis 70.

NAC-Feyenoord

NAC BREDA 1-1 FEYENOORD

After missing various chances in front of goal, Feyenoord lost some ground in the title race after being held 1-1 at NAC Breda.

After an impressive start, Ronald Koeman’s men took the lead with a well taken goal from right-back Daryl Janmaat on 25 minutes. The Dutch international received the ball on the right-wing and looked to have played the ball on the edge of the box to Lex Immers. Immers dodged the ball as Janmaat continued his run into the area; Graziano Pellè collected the ball and laid it into the path of the full-back who finished beautifully with his left boot.

Just before the break, against the run of play, NAC drew level with a spot-kick. After Anouar Hadouir had smashed a shot against the bar, Feyenoord defender Miquel Nelom handballed Danny Verbeek’s rebound shot and referee Bas Nijhuis pointed to the spot. Rydell Poepon sent Erwin Mulder the wrong way with the resulting penalty.

As the game went on NAC goalkeeper Jelle ten Rouwelaar became the man of the match saving everything Feyenoord could throw at him. The keeper saved a great unexpected point for his side which they were lucky to hold on to especially when substitute Stipe Perica was sent off for a challenge on Janmaat late on.

Feyenoord stay in third but are now seven points off leaders Ajax while Breda are 10th six points clear of the relegation battle.

TEAMS

NAC: Ten Rouwelaar, De Roover, Drost, Buijs, Van der Weg, Gilissen, Matic, Hadouir (Perica 81), Sarpong (Kwakman 86), Poepon, Verbeek (Tighadouini 71).

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

GOALS: Poepon 37P.

BOOKINGS: Matic 40.

SENT OFF: Perica 84.

FEYENOORD: Mulder, Janmaat, De Vrij, Kongolo, Nelom (Te Vrede 85), Clasie, Immers, Vilhena, Armenteros (Schaken 67), Pellè, Boëtius (Goossens 82).

SUBS NOT USED: Graafland, Mathijsen, Bakkal, Van Beek.

GOALS: Janmaat 25.

BOOKINGS: Nelom 36, Immers 62, Vilhena 88, Pellè 90+5.

Groningen-GoAhead

FC GRONINGEN 1-0 GO AHEAD EAGLES

Groningen finally clinched their first win of 2014 with a narrow 1-0 win over Go Ahead Eagles.

The hosts gained the win by a Tjarron Chery goal surrounded in controversy after just three minutes. From the edge of the area, Chery fired into the bottom corner that gave Eagles keeper Stephan Andersen had no chance of saving. Video replays showed that due to disgraceful state of the penalty area, the ball took a wicked bounce over the goalie’s palm when it looked like the Danish keeper had it covered.

Eagles pressed for an equaliser with Denis Türüç being the main oracherstrator for any Go Ahead chance by Marco Bizot had a good day in goal and kept a clean sheet and all three points for his side.

TEAMS

GRONINGEN: Bizot, Hateboer, Botteghin, Kappelhof, Burnet, Kieftenbeld (Lindgren 83), Adorjan (Zeefuik 62), Van Nieff, Chery, De Leeuw, Kostic.

SUBS NOT USED: Van der Lei, Hiarlej, Wijnaldum, Kirm, Zivkovic.

GOALS: Chery 3.

BOOKINGS: Kieftenbeld 73.

GO AHEAD: Andersen, Vriends, Van der Linden, Schenk (Haps 72), Overgoor (Rijsdijk 77), Türüç, Kolder, Houtkoop (Antonia 62), Schmidt, Falkenburg, Godée.

SUBS NOT USED: Ter Mate, Amevor, Azevedo, Lambooij

GOALS: None.

BOOKINGS: Schmidt 26, Overgoor 50.

Ajax-Heerenveen

AJAX 3-0 HEERENVEEN

Danish midfielder Lasse Schöne notched a hat-trick as Ajax saw off Marco van Basten’s Heerenveen to go four points clear at the top of Eredivisie. It was quite fitting that fellow Dane Christian Eriksen had returned to the Amsterdam ArenA with a hero’s welcome.

The Tottenham Hotspur star was given a standing ovation before the game by the Amsterdam fans, as Frank de Boer also said a few kind words about the player. Eriksen was not the only visitor on Sunday, as UEFA president Michel Platini was on hand to present Johan Cruyff with an award.

The hosts exploded out of the blocks and should have been ahead within just two minutes of play. A Schöne corner was fed to Niclas Moisander at the back post but the defender hit his shot against the post and out.

The defending champions thought they were 1-0 up on 6 minutes when Viktor Fischer finished a nice move by Schone but the young Dane was wrongly adjudged to being offside.

Ajax finally got ahead on 12 minutes when Joey van den Berg brought down Siem de Jong in the area and Lasse Schöne stepped up to score his first of three.

The Dane got his second penalty just four minutes later when referee Pol van Boekel penalised Stefano Marzo for a handball in the area. Schöne converted the spot-kick even though Heerenveen goalie Kristoffer Nordfeldt got a hand on it.

Ajax were very impressive and dominated throughout, so much so that Van Basten’s men failed to register a single shot on target within the 90 minutes.

The score was wrapped up with another Schöne with just eight minutes remaining, with fellow Dane Fischer stepping the hat-trick hero up.

This was a much improved performance from De Boer’s side and a performance fitting of defending champions. With Ajax being now four points clear and with no other side with games in hand, it’s looking more and more likely that De Boer will have his hands on a fourth consecutive Eredivisie championship.

TEAMS

AJAX: Cillessen, Van Rhijn, Veltman, Moisander, Boilesen (Poulsen 46), Klaassen, Blind, Serero (Duarte 58), Schöne, De Jong (Sigthórsson 72), Fischer.

SUBS NOT USED: Vermeer, Van der Hoorn,Bojan, De Sa.

GOALS: Schone 12P, 18P, 82.

BOOKINGS: Serero 21, Van Rhijn 48.

HEERENVEEN: Nordfeldt, Marzo, Kum, Van den Berg (Van Aken 85), Van Anholt (Dijks 71), De Roon, De Kamps, Ziyech, Van La Parra (Lurling 67), Finnbogason, Basacikoglu.

SUBS NOT USED: Vandenbussche, Fazli, Sinkgraven, Warmolts.

GOALS: None.

BOOKINGS: Van der Berg 12, De Roon 20, Ziyech 34, Van Aken 86.

STANDINGS

140216 - Eredivisie

League table courtesy of FIFA.com

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EREDIVISIE WEEK 24 SUNDAY’S PREVIEW & BETTING TIPS

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After hitting two tips yesterday at 6/4 and 13/10 – Will Burns is back with his picks for the Eredivisie in today’s games and like all his tips, you will not see a ‘best bet’ under evens – good luck!

Sunday 16th February

Cambuur-Zwolle

SC CAMBUUR vs. PEC ZWOLLE – 11:30

PEC Zwolle travel to Cambuur on Sunday full of confidence on the back of three wins and a mighty draw against league leaders Ajax last weekend (which I predicted). However, Cambuur are desperate for a win after dropping down into 15th and top points off the bottom of the Eredivisie.

Zwolle now sit in eighth and will be dreaming of Europa League football next season. Cambuur will be missing impressive Nigerian striker Bartholomew Ogbeche with a hamstring strain until early March and he will be a big miss since joining in January.

Look for Zwolle to win comfortably in Leeuwarden and BetVictor are offering 13/5.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Zwolle to win (13/5 – BetVictor) – Click here to bet on this market.

NAC-Feyenoord

NAC BREDA vs. FEYENOORD – 13:30

Ronald Koeman takes his side to Breda on Sunday afternoon to face a NAC side that are unbeaten in their last three games, are hoping to make it back-to-back wins against Feyenoord. Their form at home has been hopeful with six wins in their last eight games.

The Rotterdam side have also been on a great run as of late, claiming three victories out of their last four away from home. Feyenoord know all games are must-wins if they are to realise their dream of clinching a 15th Eredivisie championship.

Expect Jordy Clasie to return to Koeman’s side to boss the midfield and take Feyenoord to the victory. Goals from Jean-Paul Boëtius and Graziano Pellè have helped their side climb up to third and five points off Ajax at the top.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Feyenoord HT/FT (7/5 – Betfair) – Click here to bet on this market.

Groningen-GAE

FC GRONINGEN vs. GO AHEAD EAGLES – 13:30

FC Groningen were unlucky not to claim all three points off title challengers FC Twente in Wednesday’s rearranged clash and can have lots of positives heading into their home game with Go Ahead Eagles.

However, the Eagles are unbeaten in their last three outings, are looking to make it two consecutive wins after recording an impressive win over AZ Alkmaar last weekend.

As Groningen have failed to win nine of their last ten matches in Eredivisie, I’m taking this one to be a score draw.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Draw (16/5 – BetVictor) – Click here to bet on this market.

Ajax-Heerenveen

AJAX vs. HEERENVEEN – 15:30

Fortunately for Ajax none of the chasing pack could capitalise after Frank de Boer’s men slipped up last week in a 1-1 draw away to PEC Zwolle. This weekend the strong test of Marco van Basten’s Heerenveen comes to the Amsterdam ArenA.

Heerenveen arrive without defender Kenny Otigba suspended after being dismissed last weekend in his side’s win over Groningen. Van Basten does have a tremendous attacking force of Hakim Ziyech, Bilal Basacikoglu and Alfred Finnbogason in tow which could give De Boer’s defence some trouble.

I am predicting goals in this one with Davy Klaassen and Lasse Schöne being in great form also, but after last week’s draw against Zwolle, I think the desperation of getting a result against Heerenveen may overcome Ajax and a draw may be on the cards at a HUGE price of 5/1.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Draw (5/1 – BetVictor) – Click here to bet on this market.

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Koeman open to Swansea job

Obviously thinking about his future after informing Feyenoord that he will not be extending his contract past this May, Ronald Koeman has admitted that he would be interested in managing in England next season.

Koeman has been linked with the vacant Swansea City job since Michael Laudrup was dismissed last week, but the Dutchman has denied he has held talks with Swans executives about taking over there.

One thing is for sure is that Koeman will not be leaving the Eredivisie side until the end of the current campaign.

After watching his side defeat NEC Nijmegen 5-2 on Saturday evening, in the post-match press conference, Koeman told De Telegraaf: “These reports are strange, I have already agreed my agent here that he will sort out the options I have. He will do the homework at the moment and that is all.

“If that leads to something, I might be ready for it. But for now I will just wait and see what happens. I don’t think anything will happen right now.

“I think it will be April or May before I can clarify anything about my future. At this stage, there has been no contact with Swansea City.”

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Week 23 Eredivisie Report: PSV stun Twente, Feyenoord hit five

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A great day for Feyenoord, PSV and AJAX fans as FC Twente were felled by the Eindhoven side 3-2 to help Ajax out who could go seven points clear at the top with a win at PEC Zwolle. For Ronald Koeman’s men, it was a tremendous home performance smashing five past Anton Janssen’s NEC side.

Saturday 8th February 2014

PSV 3-2 FC TWENTE

FC Twente’s title hopes were stalled by a resurgent PSV side in a fantastic five-goal thriller on Saturday evening.

It was a dream start for PSV who exploded out the blocks and took the lead after just seven minutes. Colombian right-back Santiago Arias, a summer signing from Sporting Lisbon, bombed down the right-wing, cut inside the box, shrugged off Andreas Bjelland to fire past Nick Marsman in goal.

Both sides played with high-octane pressure all the way up the pitch and on 23 minutes, PSV broke through the Twente defence again. Memphis Depay whipped in a pin-point cross to meet the head of Jürgen Locadia who got in front of Bjelland to double the lead. The Eindhoven crowd was in raptures, and the feel good factor was back in the Philips Stadion.

The second goal fired some life into Twente who could possibly feel their title challenge slipping away. Just past the half-hour mark, Serbian playmaker Dušan Tadić, on-fire as of late with 9 goals and 11 assists this season, nearly reduced the deficit. He intercepted a ball in the final third of the pitch and skipped the challenge of Jorrit Hendrix and smashed a shot from 25 yards that rattled Jeroen Zoet’s crossbar.

The back and forth action returned in PSV’s favour with a decent chance for Depay on 37 minutes. Breaking on the counter has become a specialty for the young PSV side and from a Twente corner, Depay found himself through on goal, but the winger saw his effort creep wide.

Robbert Schilder’s quick throw-in lead them to getting a goal back on 40 minutes. High up the pitch, Schilder caught the PSV defence asleep as the ball was thrown into Quincy Promes’s path and holding off Jeffrey Bruma’s attention, Promes blasted the ball past Zoet for 2-1.

After the break, even though they still had the lead PSV did not sit-back and searched for a third and in the 52nd minute they had the goal. Left-back Jetro Willems scored the goal of the night, emerging from the left-wing with the ball and finely curling a low shot from the edge of the area past the scrambling Marsman that had misjudged the shot.

The scoring was not finished and nor were Twente as we saw the fifth and final goal on 68 minutes. PSV failed to clear a corner and Kyle Ebecilio took advantage a prod home. The two goal conceded by PSV today will the type of errors that Phillip Cocu and Guus Hiddink will want to cut out in future games.

Twente pressed hard to level the game but to no avail and in the final stages of the games, the Phillips Stadion maybe said goodbye to Tim Matavz, whose rumoured €8m transfer to Rubin Kazan could happen sometime this week.

The Eindhoven crowd were jubilant and it was a great win for Cocu’s side that took them to fifth in the Eredivisie standings with Heerenveen (6th) still to play in Sunday’s games.

TEAMS

PSV: Zoet, Arias, Bruma, Hendrix, Willems, Park, Hiljemark, Schaars, Depay, Ruiz (Narsingh 82), Locadia (Matavz 90).

SUBS NOT USED: Tyton, Zanka Jorgensen, Maher, Jozefzoon, Brenet.

GOALS: Arias 7, Locadia 23, Willems 52

BOOKINGS: None.

FC TWENTE: Marsman, Rosales, Bengtsson, Bjelland, Schilder, Promes, Ebecilio, Gutiérrez, Mokhtar, Tadić, Castaignos.

SUBS NOT USED: Stevens, Koppers, Djurdjevic, Martina, Eghan, Tapia, Børven.

GOALS: Promes 40, Ebecilio 68.

BOOKINGS: Rosales.

NAC BREDA 2-0 RODA JC

NAC Breda jumped up to ninth placed with a 2-0 home win over Roda, who slip back into the bottom three.

It was an even game but Roda failed to make their chances into goals and it was NAC that nearly broke the deadlock just before the hour mark. Mats Seuntjens lofted a perfect ball over the top of the Roda defenders, and the onrushing Rydell Poepon stretched out for the ball but his effort scraped past the post.

NAC finally gained the lead on 73 minutes through substitute Adnane Tighadouini. Poepon knocked the ball down into Tighadouini’s path, who avoided Timo Letschert’s challenge to fire home.

The game was killed off two minutes before full-time by Stipe Perica. Also a substitute, the Croatian chased a ball down the right-wing in a tussle with the emerging Roda goalkeeper Filip Kurto. Perica won the race and got the ball before the ‘keeper and slid the ball home into the empty net.

TEAMS

NAC: Ten Rouwelaar, De Roover, Drost, Buijs, Van der Weg, Seuntjens (Perica 73), Suk, Matic, Verbeek, Poepon (Swerts 82), Sarpong (Tighadouini 65).

SUBS NOT USED: Babos, Hooi, Gommeren, Bodor.

GOALS: Tighadouini 73, Perica 87.

BOOKINGS: Seuntjens, Sarpong.

RODA: Kurto, Letschert, Luijckx, Biemans, Van Peppen, Hupperts, Donald, Sutchuin, Bonevacia, Jansen (Hocher 21), Pluim (Shkurtaj 90+1).

SUBS NOT USED: Prus, Ramos, De Beule, Paulissen, Jacobs.

GOALS: None.

BOOKINGS: None.

GO AHEAD EAGLES 2-1 AZ ALKMAAR

Dick Advocaat’s AZ side have been in good form winning defeating Groningen and Vitesse in the last seven days, but after a poor performance on Saturday, they fell to Go Ahead Eagles 2-1.

The Eagles took the lead with the goal of the day in the Eredivisie. Full-back Doke Schmidt found himself free to try a daring long-range shot from 40 yards out that gave Esteban no chance of stopping, hitting the post and into the net.

The 7,938 crowd inside the Adelaarshorst was loud and imposing as usual and AZ failed to get the ball down and play. Swedish striker Denni Avdić replaced the injured Aron Johansson up front and the 25 year-old failed to make an impact for Advocaat’s men.

The three points were clinched late on by a great counter attacking goal as AZ pressed for an equaliser. After a Stephan Andersen kick from the opposite end, Jeffrey Rijsdijk retrieved and dished out the ball to Jarchinio Antonia who was racing through on goal. The 23-year-old sidestepped Esteban and defender Jeffrey Gouweleeuw could not stop the effort on the line.

Roy Beerens  notched a consolation goal for AZ, but it was a bad day at the office for the Alkmaar club.

TEAMS

GO AHEAD: Andersen, Schmidt, Vriends, Van der Linden, Schenk, Falkenburg, Overgoor, Türüç, Godee, Kolder (Rijsdijk 67), Houtkoop.

SUBS NOT USED: Ter Mate, Amevor, Antonia, Azevedo, Haps, Lambooij.

GOALS: Schmidt 35, Antonia 86.

BOOKINGS: None.

AZ: Esteban, Viergever, Reijnen, Gouweleeuw, Wuytens (Poulsen 73), Gudelj, Elm, Ortiz, Berghuis (Lewis 73), Beerens, Avdic.

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

GOALS: Beerens 90+4.

BOOKINGS: Avdic.

FEYENOORD 5-1 NEC NIJMEGEN

Ronald Koeman’s Feyenoord hit five past NEC as Jean-Paul Boëtius and Graziano Pellè ran riot all over Anton Janssen’s side.

The away side took the lead but should have had a goal earlier in the first minute if it were not for Feyenoord keeper Erwin Mulder. Michael Higdon, an aerial threat all game, knocked the ball down into the path of Christoph Hemlein. The German lashed a volley into the top corner but a strong palm from Mulder saved his side.

However, ten minutes later he could not stop another volleyed effort. Danish midfielder Søren Rieks opened the scoring after Higdon had again nodded the ball down into the Dane’s path and hit the first-time shot that looped over Mulder’s reach and into the goal.

Minutes later, John Goossens nearly scored the equaliser from a free-kick on the edge of the area but Karl-Johan Johnsson tipped the effort over.

The score was levelled up on 26 minutes after some great play from Boëtius. The winger played the lovely ball through to the overlapping Miquel Nelom on the left, the full-back swung a low cross into the back post where Lex Immers arrived to tap home.

Within nine minutes, Feyenoord has turned the game on its head with their second goal. Daryl Janmaat and Immers combined until the right-back found himself inside the area to pull the ball back from the byline to Graziano Pellè to make it two for the home side.

It should have been 3-1, on 39 minutes after the troublesome Boëtius pirouetted in the area and was subsequently brought down by NEC captain Ryan Koolwijk. Pellè stepped up but Johnsson saved with ease to the keep the score at 2-1 at half-time.

In the second-half, Koeman’s side ran riot. On 55 minutes, Jean-Paul Boëtius got a deserved goal tapping in an Immers cross at the back stick. Then the goal of the game came four minutes later.

Again, Nelom bombing down the left, crossed into the penalty at medium height. Italian hitman Pellè got in front of his marker Lasse Nielsen, and perfectly volleyed beyond Johnsson. A textbook goal that even gained the applause of the visiting fans.

He action was far from over as the visitors were awarded a penalty on 64 minutes after referee Reinold Wiedemeijer has adjudged Nelom fouled Hemlein in the area. This time, Rieks fired the ball into Mulder hands and the score stayed 4-1.

The final nail in the coffin for NEC came on 78 minutes and it was the impressive Boëtius grabbing his team’s fifth and his second after a great counter attack.

A great performance for Koeman’s side that moves ahead of Vitesse into third on goal difference.

TEAMS

FEYENOORD: Mulder, Janmaat, De Vrij, Kongolo, Nelom, Goossens (Bakkal 68), Immers, Vilhena, Pellè (Te Vrede 77), Boëtius, Schaken (Verhoek 82).

SUBS NOT USED: Graafland, Van Beek, Sleegers, Hardeveld.

GOALS: Immers 26, Pellè 35, 59, Boëtius 55, 78.

BOOKINGS: Janmaat, Boëtius.

NEC: Johnsson, Van Eijden, Conboy, Vermijl (Gravenberch 47), Nielsen, Koolwijk (Mulder 47), Foor, Rieks, Hemlein (Jahanbakhsh 75), Higdon, Jantscher.

SUBS NOT USED: Smits, Diarra, Leiwakabessy, Castillion.

GOALS: Rieks 11.

BOOKINGS: Van Eijden, Mulder.

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EREDIVISIE WEEK 23 PREVIEW & BETTING TIPS

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In the midweek games, our top tipster Will Burns hit a four bets out of nine at massive prices to make a huge profit (13/8, 13/5, 11/4 and 19/10) and last night hit ANOTHER one at 6/5. He is back with his picks for the Eredivisie this coming weekend and like all his tips, you will not see a ‘best bet’ under evens – good luck!

Saturday 8th February

PSV-Twente

PSV vs. FC TWENTE – 17:45

With both sides coming into this one on the back of good wins, it sure proves to a be a great game when second-placed Twente travel to the Phillips Stadion to face PSV on Saturday evening.

The installation of Guus Hiddink as Phillip Cocu’s advisor will only help the Eindhoven’s patchy season so far but Twente are in great form and are desperate to close the gap between themselves and Ajax.  A win for Twente in this would sit them only a point off the top.

I believe a feel good factor could be back in Eindhoven for this one but Twente could be too strong for Cocu’s men. The best bet would be to sit on the fence and settle for a draw.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Draw (5/2 – BetVictor)

NAC-RodaJC

NAC BREDA vs. RODA JC – 18:45

It’s a relegation battle in Breda. NAC missed the chance to pick up three vital points in Nijmegen on Wednesday night and with just two wins from their last nine matches, they now find themselves just four points above the relegation zone.

Jon Dahl Tomasson’s Roda find themselves in the drop zone but only due to a poor goal-difference. In the past five trips, two draws and three defeats does not fill you full of confidence when away from home but they do have a young prodigy on their hands who could fire them up the league.

Of course, I am talking about Guus Hupperts. He is the main reason I’m betting that Roda could grab the win.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Roda to win (28/11 – Unibet)

GAE-AZ

GO AHEAD EAGLES vs. AZ ALKMAAR – 18:45

Dick Advocaat lead AZ to back-to-back wins last week, hosting Groningen and at Vitesse which gives them three wins from their first four games of the new year has revitalised their season.

The Eagles are yet to win in 2014 but have good form, one losing once in the last five games at Adelaarshorst but I see AZ’s firepower of Aron Johansson, 13 goals in 23 games being too strong for Go Ahead.  Take AZ to win at 11/10.

BURNS’ BEST BET: AZ to win (11/10 – BetVictor & WilliamHill)

Feyenoord-NEC

FEYENOORD vs. NEC NIJMEGEN– 19:45

Feyenoord had a great 2-1 away win to Roda midweek with Lex Immers and Samuel Armenteros getting involved in the goals, with Ronald Koeman not relying on Graziano Pellè notching.

NEC are undefeated in 2014 with two wins and three draws but four of those games have been played at home, the only away game was a tremendous 1-1 draw in Arnhem against Vitesse.

Could NEC gain another draw on Saturday night? Possibly… To play it safe I am going to say there are going to be goals in this one and plenty of them. Get on Over 4.5 Goals at Coral at 2/1 for the best bet of the day.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Over 4.5 Goals (2/1 – Coral)

Sunday 9th February

Heracles-Cambuur

HERACLES vs. SC CAMBUUR– 11:30

Sunday’s set of games opens with Cambuur’s visit to Heracles. The hosts smashed ADO 3-0 on Tuesday so they will be full of confidence. Cambuur held their own against PSV even though they let a 1-0 lead slip to be defeated by Cocu’s men.

On the road, Cambuur’s form is not great, losing six out of the last seven away league matches. Heracles have been in decent form at home (losing only one in five) due to the in-form Bryan Linssen firing off all cylinders, scoring six in six.

The best bet will be Heracles to be winning at half-time and continuing on to defeat Cambuur at the final whistle.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Heracles HT/FT (3/2 – Ladbrokes)

PEC-Ajax

PEC ZWOLLE vs. AJAX– 13:30

The resurgent PEC Zwolle go in search of a fourth straight win when they host league leader Ajax on Sunday.

Ron Jans’ men began the season in great form, winning their first four games and led the league for almost a month but a run of just one league win in 15 put pay to any title aspirations. Ajax started poorly for have clawed back and now top the league with a four point lead.

I predict this to be the game of the week and a real test for Ajax, with the game ending in a score draw.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Draw (13/10 – Bet Victor)

RKC-Utrecht

RKC WAALWIJK vs. FC UTRECHT– 13:30

Even though Jan Wouter’s Utrecht have won six of their last seven matches against Waalwijk in all competitions, they have lost six of their last seven away matches in league. Utrecht are truly in horrible form at the moment even though they clinched a great point at home to Ajax last weekend.

Erwin Koeman’s RKC had a great week last week, defeating PSV on Sunday and drawing away to Go Ahead on Wednesday and need more points on the board to improve their position.

Utrecht also need points to and since loan signing Juan Agudelo has arrived from Stoke,  he has started in back-to-back games alongside Steven de Ridder up front. Agudelo and De Ridder have impressed and I feel they could be the two help Wouters clinch a win.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Utrecht to win (12/5 – Coral)

Groningen-Heerenveen

FC GRONINGEN vs. HEERENVEEN – 15:30

The final game of the weekend sees Marco van Basten take his Heerenveen side to Groningen. Both teams will be looking to bounce back after midweek defeats as Groningen lost narrowly away to Ajax and Heerenveen at home against FC Twente.

Groningen were incredibly unlucky against Ajax on Thursday with a late goal snatching a great point away from their grasp. With Hakim Ziyech and Alfred Finnbogason, Heerenveen are always dangerous but I feel Groningen could win this game especially if Filip Kostic can put in a performance like he did against Ajax. BetVictor are offering 6/5 for the home win and I see this as the best bet.

BURNS’ BEST BET: Groningen to win (6/5 – BetVictor)

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

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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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EREDIVISIE WEEK 22 PREVIEW & BETTING TIPS

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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-Feyenoord

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-Heracles

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-AZ

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

Cambuur-PSV

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)

GAE-RKC

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-NAC

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-Twente

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

Utrecht-PEC

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-Groningen

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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