Preview: Groningen vs. Heerenveen - prediction, team news, lineups

Aiming to move on from their opening day disappointment, Groningen host Heerenveen in Saturday's Eredivisie gameweek two match at Euroborg.

De FC suffered a 4-1 defeat at AZ Alkmaar on Sunday, while Robin Veldman’s team could only manage a 1-1 draw against league returnees Volendam in Friesland.

Match preview

Dick Lukkien’s Groningen paid the price for a poor start in Alkmaar in gameweek one, as three goals conceded in the opening 32 minutes effectively ended the game at AFAS Stadion as a contest.

Despite Marco Rente pulling one back just before the break, De FC never truly applied enough pressure in the second half before Troy Parrott's 87th-minute penalty sealed their opening-day disappointment.

That defeat was more dampening after Lukkien’s team entered the first round on the back of back-to-back 3-1 pre-season victories against Beerschot and Wrexham, and four wins from five warm-up games in total.

Aiming to move on from that heavy loss, Groningen will hope for a sharper start on Sunday, eager to notch back-to-back wins in this fixture.

The corresponding match last season saw Lukkien's team secure a 1-0 victory to break a four-match losing streak in this fixture, ending a nine-game wait since their last triumph over Heerenveen in November 2018.

Indeed, they must play high-level football defensively and offensively to record consecutive Eredivisie wins in this fixture since the 2015-16 season when they achieved 3-1 and 2-1 wins.

The travelling supporters will be mindful of their team's historical dominance, hoping Veldman’s team show improvements after last weekend’s 1-1 draw with promoted Volendam.

De Superfriezen’s lack of creativity was an issue in the fixture despite taking a 1-0 lead after Luuk Brouwers's fourth-minute goal; however, the Super Frisians never created a clear-cut chance after that, and they were punished by Ozan Kokcu's equaliser just after the hour.

While Heerenveen, last season's ninth-placed side, take to the field seven days after that draw seeking their first win of the 2025-26 campaign, fans will be aware of their struggles away from home last season, which made their defeat in Groningen unsurprising.

De Superfriezen only managed two wins in 17 away games, losing a staggering 14 and securing a single draw on their travels.

Considering last campaign's results, Heerenveen have lost five consecutive away matches and have not won on the road since beating NAC Breda 4-2 in January, extending a run of seven away games without victory.

These figures are less reassuring despite the Super Frisians’ historical advantage, and it remains to be seen whether their away woes continue in Veldman’s first full season in charge since replacing Robin van Persie in March.

Groningen Eredivisie form:

Heerenveen Eredivisie form:

Team News

Etienne Vaessen is expected to miss out, so Hidde Jurjus will continue in goal for Groningen.

After a difficult outing, including an own goal, captain Stije Resink will be hoping for a more commanding midfield display.

Despite last week's defeat, Rente and Younes Taha showed promising understanding on the right flank, and both are hopeful their partnership can lead to maximum points this weekend.

Although he assisted Brouwers's goal, Levi Smans was injured before the hour and is expected to miss gameweek two.

Despite last weekend’s draw, the injured Smans, Brouwers and Vasilios Zagaritis all played commendably; Zagaritis won all four tackles, dominated 80% of his 10 duels and recovered loose balls multiple times.

With last season's top scorer Ion Nicolaescu now at Maccabi Tel Aviv, De Superfriezen must find alternative sources of goals to replace his nine-goal tally.

Groningen possible starting lineup:

Jurjus; Rente, Blokzijl, Peersman, Prins; De Jonge, Resink; Taha, Van Bergen, Schreuders; Willumsson

Heerenveen possible starting lineup:

Noppert; Zagaritis, Hopland, Kersten, Petrov; Van Overeem, Linday, Brouwers; Trenskow, Vente, Rivera