Our prediction for this match:
All eyes will be on Stadion Galgenwaard when Utrecht and Heerenveen face each other in the Eredivisie round 10. Utrecht suffered a heavy 5-1 loss at AZ Alkmaar, but they have been producing excellent displays at home ground this term. Rene Hake’s men rolled over Zwolle 5-1 in their last home fixture, and it is no wonder the bookies see them as hot favourites to win Saturday’s clash. All Simon Gustafson, Christopher Mamengi, and Tommy St. Jago are rated doubtful, and the trio will be assessed ahead of the kick-off.
Heerenveen, on the other hand, failed to upset reigning champions Ajax at the weekend, and seeing that they were beaten by Utrecht in five of the previous six meetings between the two teams at Stadion Galgenwaard, home win should be considered. Defender Pawel Bochniewicz remains in the recovery room, while both Filip Stevanovic and Erwin Mulder are rated doubtful for the game.
Highlighted Player (Willem Janssen):
After starting his senior career at VVV-Venlo, Willem Janssen joined fellow Dutch club Roda JC in 2007. The 186-cm-tall centre-back scored 22 goals in 129 appearances for the Black and Yellows in the Eredivisie, and in 2011 he moved to Twente.
After ending his loan spell with Utrecht in 2014, he signed a permanent deal with the Stadion Galgenwaard outfit, and he has been playing for the club ever since. He scored his first league goal for Utrecht in a 1-1 draw with Zwolle on September 1, 2013. Willem Janseen was born in Nijmegen, Netherlands on July 4, 1986, but he has yet to earn a call-up for the national team. Janssen, though, has two caps with the Netherlands U21 team.
His main position is centre-back, but he is used as both defensive midfielder and central midfielder as well. His preferred foot is right. In the 2015/16 season he helped Utrecht make it to the Dutch Cup final, but Feyenoord proved to be a big catch for them in the title game.
Highlighted Team (Heerenveen):
Heerenveen is a Dutch football club that is well known for their white shirts with blue stripes. De Superfriezen (The Super Frisians) play home matches at Abe Lenstra Stadium, which has the capacity of 26,400 people.
Heerenveen have yet to win the Eredivisie title, but they impressed in the 1999/00 season, with the team finishing the process in second position in the standings. Thanks to a top-two finish, the club booked their place in the Champions League. Heerenveen, though, recorded only one in the group stages of the elite competition as they defeated Olympiakos 1-0 at home ground. De Superfizien retain a fierce rivals with Cambuur, and there have always been fireworks in clashes between the two teams.
It has to be noted that Heerenveen won the Dutch Cup in the 2008/09 season, with the team beating Twente on penalties in the title game. New Chelsea signing Hakim Ziyech played for Heerenveen at the start of his senior career.