Preview: Heerenveen vs Go Ahead Eagles - prediction, team news, lineups

Heerenveen will aim to end their winless start to the 2025-26 Eredivisie season when they take on Go Ahead Eagles on Saturday at the Abe Lenstra Stadion.

Although the visitors are yet to win in the opening three rounds, the last five fixtures between the two sides have produced 11 goals, and another exciting contest could be on the cards.

Match preview

The Super Frisians finished ninth in the league table in 2024-25, but they have made a poor start to the new season, picking up only one point from their opening three matches.

Heerenveen began the new season with a 1-1 draw against newly promoted FC Volendam and suffered a 2-1 defeat against Groningen in the second round.

Despite taking an early lead against the latter, Robin Veldman's side ended up on the losing side after Brynjolfur Darri Willumsson’s 94th-minute strike inflicted their first defeat of the season.

In the third game, Heerenveen conceded an early goal inside 12 minutes against FC Twente, and their chances of a comeback took a big blow when Naci Unuvar scored in the 84th minute to give the visitors a 2-0 lead.

While Vaclav Sejk sparked hope of a late revival after scoring in the 90th minute, the home side could not find the equaliser as they ran out of time.

Go Ahead's new head coach, Melvin Boel, must be scratching his head to find solutions after a winless start to the new season.

After losing 2-1 to PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch Super Cup, they have conceded seven goals in their last three league games, which is indeed a worrying sign.

In the opening game, Go Ahead managed a 2-2 draw against Fortuna Sittard, where Calvin Twigt was sent off in the 54th minute. Despite going 2-1 down, the 10 men showed resilience and found the equaliser in the 90th minute through Gerrit Nauber.

A point against Ajax at home should be seen as a positive outcome, but Boel will be disappointed that his side could not hold on to the lead in the first half.

The biggest disappointment came in the last week when they were thoroughly outplayed by Sparta Rotterdam, losing 3-0 at home, and a strong reaction is needed to register their first win of the season.

Heerenveen Eredivisie form:

D L L

Go Ahead Eagles Eredivisie form:

D D L

Team News

Pawel Bochniewicz is nearing a return from his torn knee ligament injury, but Levi Smans, who missed the previous two matches with a knee problem, is not expected to play again this month.

Luuk Brouwers scored in the first match and also assisted Jacob Trenskow's goal in the defeat by Groningen before picking up an injury. The 27-year-old, however, started in the previous game, but he is suspended for this game after receiving his marching orders against FC Twente.

Twigt picked up a red card in the first match and missed the previous two games as a result, while Pim Saathof and Soren Tengstedt are sidelined due to injury.

Kowet have had three different goalscorers this season, but striker Victor Edvardsen has yet to find the net. However, Boel is likely to keep faith in the Swedish striker, hoping that he can end his drought.

Heerenveen possible starting lineup:

Noppert; Brewery, Kersten, Hopland, Zagaritis; Linday, Overeem; Trenskow, Brewers, Rivera; Sejk

Go Ahead Eagles possible starting lineup:

Busser; Deijl, Nauber, Chandler, James; Linthorst, Meulensteen; Margaret, Breum, Suray; Edvardsen