Preview: ADO Den Haag vs Groningen - prediction, team news, lineups

Five years since their last Eredivisie match at WerkTalent Stadion, ADO Den Haag welcome Groningen to their home for matchday two in the top flight.

Den Haag's return to the big time went awry last time out, and the Hague aim to respond to their 2-0 defeat at AZ Alkmaar by defeating one of the winning sides on the opening matchday.

Match preview

For 45 minutes in Alkmaar, Robin Peter's team were level with their opponents and seemed capable of holding their own, even if it seemed a matter of when — not if — they would concede.

Eventually, the Hague's resistance was broken on the hour, and they conceded another shortly afterwards to fall to a 2-0 defeat at AFAS Stadion.

Returning to home comforts on Sunday, the league returnees will be aware of their outstanding record in front of their supporters, where they claimed 15 wins in 19 matches en route to returning to the big time.

Interestingly, Peter's men dropped points in just four games, all coming consecutively during a month-long run without winning in Den Haag from December to late January.

That unwanted sequence of matches was then followed by a stunning six-match winning streak as hosts, scoring 18 and conceding three, as they secured four clean sheets in front of their fans in that period to seal their return to the big time.

Extending that sequence of wins will require added effort due to the undeniably loftier standard of play in the Eredivisie, and facing Groningen may test the strength of their resolve at WerkTalent Stadion.

Dick Lukkien's men notably owned the sixth-best away record in the Eredivisie in 2025-26 — compared to 11th-best in home results — highlighting the Pride of the North's competence on their travels.

The FC have started this term with the intent to possibly have a stronger set of results on their turf this term, with gameweek one's success over FC Utrecht continuing their regular-season finish to the previous campaign.

By securing a league-opening 2-1 success, Groningen have now claimed three consecutive Eredivisie wins after picking up one point from the previous three matches in the league.

They head into Sunday's match as one of the eight unblemished sides after gameweek one, and they look to keep it that way against the league returnees.

Having not claimed consecutive away league wins since September-October last season, it remains to be seen if the Pride of the North follow up May's 2-1 success over Heracles with another triumph in Den Haag.

ADO Den Haag Eredivisie form:

Groningen Eredivisie form:

Team News

Donat Barany and Cameron Peupion are still expected to miss out for the Hague this weekend, with the former's return date still unknown due to the nature of his knee issue.

Juho Kilo was probably Den Haag's finest outfield player in the loss at AZ, though the man who racked up eight assists could not dominate the game as well as he would have desired in the top flight.

Evan Rottier scored eight in the promotion season while assisting seven, but was largely anonymous in the defeat in Alkmaar, further highlighting the work that lies ahead for the hosts this term.

As for Groningen, Thom van Bergen and Brynjolfur Darri Willumsson were the goalscorers, while David van der Werff was a creative protagonist as De FC began their campaign with maximum points at Utrecht's expense.

Etienne Vaessen also made the difference between the sticks, with the goalkeeper making a staggeringly high seven saves to deny the Cupfighters, and he created two chances to boot.

Marco Rente, however, may play no part on Sunday after going off 30 minutes into last weekend's success, possibly joining Malcolm Jeng, Oskar Zawada (knock) and Stije Resink (knee) on the treatment table.

ADO Den Haag possible starting lineup:

Nikiema; Hokke, Mulder, Waem, Sylla; Van Mieghem, De Bruin, Kilo, De Ruijter; Rottier, Eduardo

Groningen possible starting lineup:

Vaessen; Schreuders, Blokzijl, Van der Laan, Prins; De Jonge, Land; Van der Werff, Van Bergen, Clement; Willumsson

We say: ADO Den Haag 1-1 Groningen

While Den Haag are desperate to bounce back and replicate their imperious home form from the previous campaign, they face a stern test against a confident Groningen side fresh off an opening-day victory.

With Vaessen proving exceptionally difficult to beat between the sticks for the visitors, the newly promoted hosts may have to settle for a hard-fought point in front of their own supporters.

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