VVV - Excelsior
Saturday
Willem II - Heerenveen
Roda - De Graafschap
Heracles - Vitesse
NAC - ADO Den Haag
Sunday
Feyenoord - Groningen
PSV - Ajax
AZ - Twente
NEC - Utrecht
On Friday, relegation threatened VVV host Rotterdam side Excelsior in what could prove to be a crucial game in the battle against relegation. The home side were beaten 1-0 by Ajax last week and currently sit 17th in the league table with only 13 points. Excelsior on the other hand picked up the full three points against Willem II last week and are 16th in the league with 22 points.
On Saturday, number last Willem II will take on Heerenveen. The Tilburgers have been struggling all season and have won only once this term. Excelsior proved to be too much of an obstacle for the Tricolores last week. The Friezen haven't been too impressive either and sit only ninth in the table at the moment. They were beaten 2-0 by AZ last week and have collected 34 points so far.
Kerkrade side Roda will have to deal with De Graafschap and they'll be brimming with confidence following their impressive 4-1 away win over Groningen last Saturday. The Limburgers currently sit seventh in the table with 39 points. The away side were beaten 2-0 by Vitesse last weekend and are 12th in the Eredivisie at the moment with 26 points.
Heracles take on ambitious Arnhem side Vitesse and the hosts will be eager to build on their 1-1 draw against Utrecht last week. They currently sit 13th in the league table, but the gap to the drop zone is only three points. Vitesse recorded a 2-0 home win over De Graafschap last week and consequently climbed to 14th spot with exactly as many points as their opponents.
Beleaguered Breda side NAC meet in form ADO Den Haag on Saturday evening in what will be yet another difficult match for NAC. They have been in poor form ever since the winter break and were heavily beaten 4-1 by rivals PSV last Sunday. NAC have dropped to 11th spot as a result. Den Haag recorded a 2-2 draw against Feyenoord last week and the Residentieclub will be eager to return to winning ways at the weekend. They are fifth in the table at the moment.
On Sunday, fallen Eredivisie giants Feyenoord lock horns with Groningen in what promises to be an entertaining game. The Rotterdam side have been struggling all season long, but they're slowly finding their form. They recorded a 2-2 draw against ADO Den Haag last week, while they beat Heracles the week before. Nevertheless, the Stadionclub still sit only 15th in the league table with 25 points from 24 games. Groningen have every reason to be pleased with their results so far this term, even though the league title is no longer a realistic option following their recent results. They were heavily beaten 4-1 by Roda last week, while they spilled points the week before against De Graafschap. Groningen sit fourth at the moment with 44 points.
Elsewhere, table toppers PSV meet domestic rivals Ajax in the absolute clash of the week. The Eindhoven side cruised to a comfortable 4-1 win over NAC last week and have so far collected 53 points from 24 games. Head coach Fred Rutten will be quite pleased to see that he pretty much has a full squad available, even though he still has to make do without the services of young attacker Jonathan Reis due to injury. Ajax put in a far from impressive performance against VVV last week, but they won't care too much about it as they eventually recorded a 1-0 loss. The Godenzonen currently sit third in the league table with 48 points from 24 games and they can't afford to spill points in Eindhoven if they are to keep their title chances alive. Head coach Frank de Boer doesn't have too many injury worries ahead of Sunday's game, with only Nicolas Lodeiro and Demy de Zeeuw not fully match fit.
Reigning champions Twente await a difficult game as well as they travel to Alkmaar for the away game against 2008-09 champions AZ. The Alkmaar side recorded an impressive 2-0 away win over Heerenveen last week and will be high on confidence. They currently sit sixth in the table with 40 points. Twente were somewhat surprisingly held to a 1-1 draw in the home match against NEC last weekend, but they are still second with 51 points from 24 games.
Finally, Nijmegen outfit NEC will have to deal with Utrecht in the last game of matchday 25. The hosts caused Twente all kinds of trouble last week and eventually left Enschede with a 1-1 draw in the bag. They currently sit tenth in the league table with 31 points. Utrecht failed to impress at home against Heracles last week and had to settle for a 1-1 draw. The Domestedelingen are eighth in the standings at the moment.
