Round two of the 2022-23 Eredivisie season sees Feyenoord and Heerenveen lock horns against each other at De Kuip on Saturday evening.
The home side claimed an emphatic victory in their matchday one fixture, while the visitors were involved in a share of the spoils last time out.
Match preview
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Feyenoord breezed past the threat of Vitesse in an emphatic 5-2 victory at the GelreDome to get their Eredivisie campaign off to a perfect start.
Danilo was the star of the event for Arne Slot's side, as he netted twice in Arnhem while Patrik Walemark, Javairo Dilrosun and Lutsharel Geertruida also got on the scoresheet.
Consequently, De Stadionclub currently lead the way in the league table, albeit only clear of nearest challengers PSV Eindhoven by the virtue of goals scored.
Next up is the challenge of an opposing outfit who were beaten in both of last season's meetings between the teams by an aggregate score of 6-1.
However, Saturday's hosts have lost five of their most recent six matches on home turf and will be keen to address what has been an alarming slump in form in front of their fans.
Heerenveen were held to a goalless stalemate by Sparta Rotterdam in the curtain-raiser of the new Eredivisie campaign on Friday evening.
In a drab affair at the Abe Lenstra Stadion, Kees van Wonderen's men failed to find the breakthrough and had to make do with a point as a result.
De Superfriezen are in 11th place in the standings and will be aiming to move up the table with all three points in this weekend's trip to Rotterdam.
With just one victory in their nine league matches on the road since the turn of the year, Saturday's visitors must get their act together away from home to stand any chance of enjoying a much-improved season compared to last time out.
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Team News
Midfielder Orkun Kokcu is not expected to feature for Feyenoord in this weekend's encounter, as he is ruled out through an ankle injury.
Meanwhile, Mats Wieffer remains sidelined due to a syndesmotic ligament tear which has kept the 22-year-old out of action since February.
New arrival Santiago Gimenez also misses out for the home side through injury and will have to wait a little longer for his debut.
Heerenveen's Thom Haye was hauled off in the final knockings of his side's opening fixture last time out, making him a doubt for this one.
Simon Olsson will be pushing for a start here after he was only handed a brief five-minute cameo in his first-ever outing for the visitors.
Feyenoord possible starting lineup:
Bijlow; Pedersen, Trauner, Rasmussen, Geertruida; Aursnes, Szymanski; Walemark, Timber, Dilrosun; Danilo
Heerenveen possible starting lineup:
Noppert; Kaib, Van Aken, Bochniewicz, Van Beek, Van Ewijk; Tahiri, Haye, Kohlert; Sarr, Van Hooijdonk
We say: Feyenoord 3-1 Heerenveen
Feyenoord boast a significantly better squad on paper, and while that does not always translate to eventual success on the field, we are backing the hosts to emerge victorious come the sound of the final whistle.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
