Stadion Feijenoord will host a six-pointer in the Eredivisie‘s race for European football when Feyenoord take on Go Ahead Eagles on Sunday.
De Stadionclub will be hoping to get back on track after their impressive win last time out, while the Pride of IJssel Kowet will be aiming to make it five victories on the bounce this weekend.
Match preview
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Robin van Persie took charge of his boyhood club Feyenoord at the tail end of February after Brian Priske was sacked, and the 41-year-old has endured a mixed start to life in the Rotterdam dugout.
De Stadionclub have taken four points from the new manager’s first two league fixtures, drawing with NEC Nijmegen and thrashing FC Twente 6-2 on the road most recently, but they also crashed out of Europe after losing home and away in the Champions League against Internazionale earlier this month.
Their domestic rout on March 16 saw Van Persie’s side move up to fourth in the top flight, replacing their opponents that day in the spot for next season’s Europa League Qualifiers.
Additionally, this weekend’s hosts are now just two points behind third-placed Utrecht, and they will be confident of securing another home victory considering they have only lost one league match at Stadion Feijenoord since October.
With this in mind, should Feyenoord make it back-to-back wins for the first time under their new boss on Sunday, then they could find themselves in the spot for entry into 2025-26’s Champions League Qualifiers with eight games to play.
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Meanwhile, Paul Simonis‘s Go Ahead Eagles are in excellent form ahead of this clash, having won four consecutive matches across all competitions since late February, including two victories against giants PSV Eindhoven.
Before the international break, the Pride of IJssel Kowet beat Willem II 1-0 in a frustrating match in which they had almost 72% possession and produced 22 shots, but were made to wait until the 83rd minute for Milan Smit to fire them in front.
Regardless of the performance, those three points brought Simonis’s men level with sixth-placed AZ Alkmaar on 44 points, and kept them within three of their fourth-placed opponents.
Leading up to this game, the weekend’s visitors have won their last two away matches in a row, but fans may be concerned by the fact that they have only won two Eredivisie fixtures on the road since September.
To add to this, Go Ahead Eagles may be on a four-game winning streak, but they have conceded five goals in that stretch and have kept just two clean sheets since early January, meaning they will need to work on their defensive solidity if they are to go level on points with Feyenoord on Sunday.
Team News
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Feyenoord will welcome centre-back David Hancko back into the XI this weekend after he served a suspension against Twente for accumulating yellow cards.
Hancko is likely to start alongside Givairo Read, Thomas Beelen and Hugo Bueno – if he has recovered from the injury that forced him off against the Tukkers – in Van Persie’s backline.
Elsewhere, first-choice goalkeeper Justin Bijlow is expected to make a return to action after missing a number of games since January with a knee injury, and Timon Wellenreuther could make way on Sunday.
As for Go Ahead Eagles, top scorer Jakob Breum is said to be ready to play some part after recovering from a foot injury that has kept him out for more than a month, though if the attacking midfielder starts, he may be withdrawn early as he builds up his fitness levels.
Similarly, striker Finn Stokkers should be in the squad on Sunday after working his way back from an injury that has hampered him since December, but he will likely begin the match on the bench.
Feyenoord possible starting lineup:
Bijlow; Read, Beelen, Hancko, Bueno; Moder, Hwang, Smal; Moussa, Ueda, Paixao
Go Ahead Eagles possible starting lineup:
Busser; Deijl, Nauber, Kramer, James; Linthorst, Llansana; Antman, Breum, Suray; Smit
We say: Feyenoord 3-1 Go Ahead Eagles
Neither side are in the strongest defensive form at the moment, so expect both teams to be on the scoresheet this weekend.
However, the hosts will take confidence from their new boss’ major win last time out, and with some time to settle in at Stadion Feijenood, Van Persie is likely to get his second victory on Sunday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
