Our prediction for this Netherlands Eredivisie match:
Buoyed by close 1-0 win over Heerenveen at Abe Lenstra Stadion, the hosts will look to move closer to Champions League berth when they face Utrecht on Sunday afternoon. Captain Cody Gakpo will surely prove a handful for the opposition defenders as he scored 6 goals in his last starts for the vice-champions. The Ivory Coast international is leading the goal-scoring chart with nine goals and six assists on his account.
Both Ki-Jana Hoever and Noni Madueke miss out through injuries, while all Jarrad Branthwaite, Marco van Ginkel, Luuk de Jong, Mauro Junior and Olivier Boscagli are major doubts. The Cupfighters, on the other hand, will try to bounce back from a home 2-1 loss to AA Alkmaar, but they will have a mountain to climb in round 10. Anyhow, we predict that the hosts will pick up all three points from this encounter due to their splendid form. There are no fresh injury worries in the away team.
Highlighted Player (Philipp Max):
Philipp Max is the son of the former striker Martin Max, who is famous for being one of the oldest winners of the top scorer crown in Bundesliga, at the age of 32 and 34. Born in Viersen, Germany, Philipp Max started his career in SC Baldham, after which he joined 1860 Munich in 2003.
Bayern Munich youth team was his next destination, but three years after Max signed for Schalke 04 in 2010. For two years he played in the youth team and after that he was moved to Schalke 04 II, recording 54 games and netting 3 goals in the process.
He made his debut for the Shalke 04 senior team on March 2014 in the clash against Borussia Dortmund, as a replacement for Julian Draxler. However, he did not impress during his spell with Die Königsblauen, so he moved to Karlsruher and later on to Augsburg, which was a spot on decision. The left back, who can also play as a left midfielder and left winger, was the second-best assist provider in the Bundesliga during the season 2017/18, just behind Thomas Muller.
Highlighted Team (Utrecht):
Established on July 1, 1970, Utrecht is a Dutch club that competes in the Eredivisie. The club was founded as a merger of VV DOS, USV Elinkwijk, and Velox, and it has to be noted that VV DOS did well to win the Eredivisie trophy back in 1958.
Utrecht, on the other hand, have yet to win the national championship, but they have lifted three KNVB Cup trophies (1984/85, 2002/03, 2003/04). Leo van Veen is leading the club’s all-time goal-scoring chart with 153 goals. Speaking of the club’s colours, they were white and red shirts when playing at home, while blue is the dominant colour of their away jersey.
Due to the hooligan clashes, Utrecht have a rivalry with Dutch giants Ajax. The games between the two clubs have always been very tense on the field. Utrecht welcome their rivals at Stadion Galgenwaard, the venue which can hold up to 23,750 people. The stadium was opened back in May 1936.