Our prediction for this Netherlands Eredivisie match:
Abe Lenstra Stadion will have the privilege to host the opening match of the 2022/2023 Eredivisie campaign. Heerenveen aim to kick off the new domestic season with a win over Sparta Rotterdam, but Friday’s game will be anything but a walk in the park for the home team. Summer signing Alex Timossi Andersson is likely to make his Heerenveen debut against Sparta, while there are no injury worries in the home team ahead of the opener.
The Rotterdammers, on the other hand, were producing fine displays in pre-season, with the team beating all Heracles, Willem II, and Emmen, while losing to Beerschot VA. Sparta, though, are not regarded as good travellers, which is probably the main reason why we are going to put our money on draw. Head coach Maurice Steijn should have a full squad to choose from for the opening match of the season.
Highlighted Player (Erwin Mulder):
Erwin Mulder is an experienced Dutch footballer who plays for Heerenveen as a goalkeeper. Mulder spent his youth career at R.K.P.S.C, Vitesse Arnhem, and Feyenoord, and he continued playing for the Rotterdam club at senior level.
After making 120 appearances in the Eredivisie with Feyenoord, the 193-cm-tall shot-stopper signed for Heerenveen as a free agent in the summer of 2015. It has to be noted, though, that Erwin Mulder was loaned to Excelsior during his spell with Feyenoord. His next stop was Swansea City where he made 29 league appearances before returning to Heerenveen in 2020.
Erwin Mulder was born in Pannerden on March 3, 1989, and he has three caps with the Netherlands U20 team. He has yet to earn a call-up with the Oranje senior team. The Heerenveen goalkeeper was named in the Netherlands Euro 2012 provisional squad, but after the training with the national team, he failed to make the cut.
Highlighted Team (Sparta Rotterdam):
Founded back on April 1, 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is considered one of the oldest clubs in the Netherlands. De Kasteelheren (the Castle Lords) welcome their opponents at Het Kasteel, and they have a great rivalry with Feyenoord. Yet another Rotterdam club Excelsior are considered Sparta’s fierce rivals as well.
Sparta Rotterdam wear white shirts with red strips when playing on home soil, while sky blue is the dominant colour of their away kit. De Kasteelheren have won six Eredivisie trophies. Sparta were the dominant force in the Dutch football in the 1910s, with the team winning their last league title in the 1958/59 season.
De Kasteelheren have won three Dutch Cup trophies as well (1957/58, 1961/62, 1965/66). In the 1985/86 season Sparta last participated in the UEFA Cup, with the team beating Hamburger SC in round 1, while suffering elimination to Borussia Monchengladbach in the second round. Sparta’s stadium Het Kasteel can hold up to 11,926 spectators.