⚽ Eredivisie 2026/27 - Discussion Thread (Dutch League) ⚽

[nelson4lov]

Any  Ajax fan expecting them to win the Eredivisie league competition this year must be day dreaming lol. Son of Johan Cruyff was responsible for this changes we're seeing in this Ajax team. I don't even know what role he came in for but he has helped placed the footballing aspect of the club into a beautiful one. My opinion is that Ajax will not be winning the League Competition. They will fight to remain as the top four clubs but emerging winners is a big no no. PSV and Feyenoord returns back to league games after failing to impress and show themselves in the Champions League competition.

I have no such expectations for Ajax. I don't remember the exact season, maybe 2 seasons ago when Ajax was top of the league with over 10 points then they blew it away in the final 5 games. Since then, I have stopped taking them seriously. But I have been seeing some good signs from them this season. Hopefully they can keep it up. Even Feyenoord you mentioned lack the consistency to compete for the title especially when the season is drawing to a close and fatigue has set in.

[Jubilee58]

The Netherlands eredivise has just began, and the league is hitting up as it is, and presently AZ Alkmar is leading the league followed by PSV, although AZ Alkmar could also be a threat to PSV Eindhoven but it seems PSV is not also slacking. Even though AZ Alkmar is leading the Eredivise at this very biggining I doubt if they will sustain this energy till the end of the season because I still believe team like PSV Eindhoven will eventually win the league considering their performance. Before now in the Netherlands eredivise, team like Ajax was dominating the league but the trend of winning the trophy has really reversed, and PSV is now carrying the trophy which I believe someday a different team could still be doing better, and as well winning the trophy too

[Wake Up]

Any  Ajax fan expecting them to win the Eredivisie league competition this year must be day dreaming lol. Son of Johan Cruyff was responsible for this changes we're seeing in this Ajax team. I don't even know what role he came in for but he has helped placed the footballing aspect of the club into a beautiful one. My opinion is that Ajax will not be winning the League Competition. They will fight to remain as the top four clubs but emerging winners is a big no no. PSV and Feyenoord returns back to league games after failing to impress and show themselves in the Champions League competition.

I have no such expectations for Ajax. I don't remember the exact season, maybe 2 seasons ago when Ajax was top of the league with over 10 points then they blew it away in the final 5 games. Since then, I have stopped taking them seriously. But I have been seeing some good signs from them this season. Hopefully they can keep it up. Even Feyenoord you mentioned lack the consistency to compete for the title especially when the season is drawing to a close and fatigue has set in.

Ajax has played five matches and is currently showing promising form, having secured three wins in those games. Their performance last season wasn't great, but it looks like we will see a better Ajax this year. However, AZ has been the team with the best start to the season in the Dutch league; alongside PSV, they are currently among the league's top sides. Yet, it remains unclear how consistent they will be. While continuing in this vein would certainly be excellent for them, Ajax possesses the potential to mount a comeback and join the title race.

[tiCeR]

...

Ajax has played five matches and is currently showing promising form, having secured three wins in those games. Their performance last season wasn't great, but it looks like we will see a better Ajax this year. However, AZ has been the team with the best start to the season in the Dutch league; alongside PSV, they are currently among the league's top sides. Yet, it remains unclear how consistent they will be. While continuing in this vein would certainly be excellent for them, Ajax possesses the potential to mount a comeback and join the title race.

Quite a strong gameweek for all of the favorites this weekend to say the very least.

Ajax 5-1
Feyenoord 7-0
PSV 4-1
Twente 2-0

Only Alkmaar lost points, but great to see Feyenoord and Ajax can confirm their recent form because that is what the Eredivisie needs. Any league in my opinion suffers from one team shows. Even if you are a big fan of that dominating team, it is not actually what you want to see when they win the league at the end of the season.

I hope that especially PSV and Feyenoord don't experience sudden drops in their performances.

[nelson4lov]

Quite a strong gameweek for all of the favorites this weekend to say the very least.

Ajax 5-1
Feyenoord 7-0
PSV 4-1
Twente 2-0

Only Alkmaar lost points, but great to see Feyenoord and Ajax can confirm their recent form because that is what the Eredivisie needs. Any league in my opinion suffers from one team shows. Even if you are a big fan of that dominating team, it is not actually what you want to see when they win the league at the end of the season.

I hope that especially PSV and Feyenoord don't experience sudden drops in their performances.

PSV has been consistent with their performance over the last few years. It's Ajax and Feyenoord that I'm worried about because when the league goes into crucial stages that decides who wins the title race, they'll just very inconsistent. Look at how Feyenoord heavily dominated in the early stages of last season. Nobody would've guessed that PSV will go on to win the league with around 17 points? Nobody!

But you're also not wrong about what you said about 1-team shows. I like when it's competitive as that brings out the fire from teams and making going into every matchday at latter part of the season interesting. For instance you'd watch one team and won't get too excited until the second team plays later that same day just to confirm whether the positions on the table shifts or stays the same.

[pawel7777]

AZ's reign didn't last very long. They were a huge favourite in the game against Willem II, I believe the odds for them to win were like x1.16, but they only split points in a 1-1 draw. So that's a bit of an unexpected end to their 5 straight wins run from the start of the season, but such is football. I haven't watched the game but from the game stats alone, I can see they dominated and Willem probably had a lot of luck on their side.

Feyenoord needed to vent out after the 5-1 loss to Barcelona in the UCL, so they didn't hold back against Zwolle and destroyed them 7-0. I hope they will keep the same energy in their next games, which are against Utrecht and then AZ Alkmaar (both at home).

I'm not sure what's going on with NEC Nijmegen. They had a really good season last year, but now they slipped to the bottom half of the table after another loss. They failed to win any of their last 3 league games.

[welovebit]

After stealing surprising point from league leaders now tonight Willem II entertaining Ajax its going to be another interesting game because Ajax needs win this could be give them good boost and 4th spot but Willem II is having good last game they will try to have another point because currently they are having not good start of their season.
Nijmegen have good start but now in last three games they are without any win tomorrow they are going to visit Juventus this could be tricky game for them with this performance level because Old Lady is also have not good performance in last few games so they will try to regroup themselves and have 3 points from this game.
Still early days in Eredivisie, but PSV is back on fire. This could be a big advantage for them to stay ahead and perform like last year for the title.

[pawel7777]

After Willem surprisingly earned a point on AZ in an away game last Friday, things got back to normal today.
Ajax showed Willem their place, demolishing them 5-1. Fans had to wait for the first goal a bit, but it was downhill from there. Willem were forced to play more aggressively and open up more, which made it even easier for Ajax.

This was the outstanding game of matchday 3, and now Ajax moved up to 4th place, one point behind 3rd Feyenoord.

[Ahli38]

(Source)
PEC Zwolle has had a poor run in their last five matches, where they winning only one game against Heerenveen. And in their most recent match against Feyenoord they were soundly defeated in a deeply disappointing loss. Tonight Zwolle as the visiting team will face Groningen. Groningen’s performance has actually not been great either in their last five matches. However Groningen has fared slightly better with fewer losses than Zwolle. The available odds indicate that Groningen is heavily favored over PEC Zwolle at 1.50 for 1x2 bets. I personally think those odds are quite reasonable by considering that Groningen will be the home team in this upcoming match. And the points they’ve earned so far indicate that their performance has been better. But I will going to try my luck by placing a Double Chance bet on either a draw or a PEC Zwolle win. And I’m confident that my prediction could still be correct considering that in their last two meetings Zwolle managed to hold Groningen to draw last season. What are your thoughts for this upcoming match?

[pawel7777]

(Source)
PEC Zwolle has had a poor run in their last five matches, where they winning only one game against Heerenveen. And in their most recent match against Feyenoord they were soundly defeated in a deeply disappointing loss. Tonight Zwolle as the visiting team will face Groningen. Groningen’s performance has actually not been great either in their last five matches. However Groningen has fared slightly better with fewer losses than Zwolle. The available odds indicate that Groningen is heavily favored over PEC Zwolle at 1.50 for 1x2 bets. I personally think those odds are quite reasonable by considering that Groningen will be the home team in this upcoming match. And the points they’ve earned so far indicate that their performance has been better. But I will going to try my luck by placing a Double Chance bet on either a draw or a PEC Zwolle win. And I’m confident that my prediction could still be correct considering that in their last two meetings Zwolle managed to hold Groningen to draw last season. What are your thoughts for this upcoming match?

I think the odds for double chance: Zwolle or a draw of x2.50 would be attractive if Zwolle played at home, but not so much for an away game. But it still wasn't a bad pick.
Today we know that Groningen won 3-0, but such is life. When you bet on underdogs, you will be losing most of the time, but you can still be in profit if the odds for your wins were of good value.

A quick summary of Eredivisie clubs' performance in the 1st round of the league phase of the Europa League:
Sunderland 1-0 AZ Alkmaar
Juventus 5-0 NEC

Not the dream start, but both clubs had tough rivals. Hopefully they will do better in the next round, when both will be playing at home against lower-ranked clubs. AZ will face Hapoel Beer-Sheva and NEC will take on Levski Sofia. I expect them to win, especially AZ, I'm less confident about NEC.

[MAAManda]

I think the odds for double chance: Zwolle or a draw of x2.50 would be attractive if Zwolle played at home, but not so much for an away game. But it still wasn't a bad pick.
Today we know that Groningen won 3-0, but such is life. When you bet on underdogs, you will be losing most of the time, but you can still be in profit if the odds for your wins were of good value.

The away team is always at a disadvantage when the strength of the 2 teams is almost equal, that's what we saw in the Groningen - PEC Zwolle match. @Ahli38 perspective on the 2 teams I think is kinda wrong, he's only looking at the current season without considering what happened last season. Clearly, Groningen is better than PEC Zwolle in every side. This match was the first result of Eredivisie matchday #7, there's no other match I'm looking forward to besides the Twente - PSV match tomorrow.

[pawel7777]

(...) there's no other match I'm looking forward to besides the Twente - PSV match tomorrow.

Yeah, Twente Vs PSV tomorrow should be the most exciting game to watch. Twente finished 4th last season and so far it looks like they are on the way to finish in the top 5 again. Home advantage should work to Twente's advantage and could help them neutralise any skill advantage PSV have.
Meanwhile, Ajax unexpectedly lost points by drawing 2-2 against Excelsior.
This presents a great chance for Feyenoord and AZ to increase the buffer they have over Ajax and to move ahead of PSV if they too happen to lose points to Twente.

[Slow death]

Ajax had a great opportunity to stay close to the league leaders currently PSV, who are tied on 16 points with AZ but in my opinion, they failed to secure a good result. Here is the scoreline from the match:

Ajax 2 - 2 Excelsior Rotterdam

Ajax started well, scoring in the 32nd minute; it really looked like they were determined to walk away with a comfortable victory, until they conceded a goal in the 45th minute. It was a goal gifted to the Excelsior player by an Ajax player who essentially handed the ball over. It was a serious defensive error, and Ajax went on to concede a second goal another one that the defense could have prevented. To me, Ajax is having serious defensive issues; prior to this match, they had already conceded goals in two consecutive games. It will be difficult for them to overtake PSV playing like this.

[Majestic-milf]

Ajax had a great opportunity to stay close to the league leaders currently PSV, who are tied on 16 points with AZ but in my opinion, they failed to secure a good result. Here is the scoreline from the match:

Ajax 2 - 2 Excelsior Rotterdam

Ajax started well, scoring in the 32nd minute; it really looked like they were determined to walk away with a comfortable victory, until they conceded a goal in the 45th minute. It was a goal gifted to the Excelsior player by an Ajax player who essentially handed the ball over. It was a serious defensive error, and Ajax went on to concede a second goal another one that the defense could have prevented. To me, Ajax is having serious defensive issues; prior to this match, they had already conceded goals in two consecutive games. It will be difficult for them to overtake PSV playing like this.

At least they settled for a draw cause I thought Excelsior will win the game. Ajax had a high scoring game when they won 5-1 last week so it's not really a surprise that the game ended in a draw. It's just form that Ajax have lost and their inability to remain consistent if not I doubt the likes of PSV can compare to them and the way I see it, no matter how hard Ajax try, they can only settle for second or third place, since it will be a Herculean task to beat PSV off the first spot. 

[tiCeR]

...

At least they settled for a draw cause I thought Excelsior will win the game. Ajax had a high scoring game when they won 5-1 last week so it's not really a surprise that the game ended in a draw. It's just form that Ajax have lost and their inability to remain consistent if not I doubt the likes of PSV can compare to them and the way I see it, no matter how hard Ajax try, they can only settle for second or third place, since it will be a Herculean task to beat PSV off the first spot. 

It is the roller coaster I was talking about. They have unbeaten runs every now and then, but they are not what they used to be in the past when every team in the Eredivisie knew there is nothing to win against Ajax.

An extraordinary weekend for Twente with PSV as the opponent and Ajax dropping points. They could make a stable position at the top of the table as a gift to themselves. Very much action at the top now.

Alkmaar will soon play against Juventus, it is one of the obstacles they to take successfully as those will be the opponents they have to beat in the Europa League.

[Majestic-milf]

The Netherlands eredivise has just began, and the league is hitting up as it is, and presently AZ Alkmar is leading the league followed by PSV, although AZ Alkmar could also be a threat to PSV Eindhoven but it seems PSV is not also slacking. Even though AZ Alkmar is leading the Eredivise at this very biggining I doubt if they will sustain this energy till the end of the season because I still believe team like PSV Eindhoven will eventually win the league considering their performance. Before now in the Netherlands eredivise, team like Ajax was dominating the league but the trend of winning the trophy has really reversed, and PSV is now carrying the trophy which I believe someday a different team could still be doing better, and as well winning the trophy

Seven games played is "just began?" The season is still fresh I'd agree but it hasn't just begun. PSV should have won their game, I just didn't understand how a team that was leading at the break could later lose the match, and against Twente of all teams. Well, it's not Twente are weak, it's just that against PSV, they don't stand a chance most times.
 I have the belief that PSV can still beat Ajax and Feyernood to lift the trophy at the end of season even though they lost today, and this is their first loss in 7 games, having just one draw as well but the rest have been winning so it's a pretty solid record for them.

[nelson4lov]

The only winners from this weekend were AZ Alkmaar, Feyenoord and FC Twente. I knew that Twente vs PSV game will be a tough one for PSV but I never expected PSV to lose.  Twente fought very hard and won it. As much as I trust PSV, I decided to not back them this week, and instead go for totals for their game as PSV is very high scoring and Twente gets decent goals per match.


Does anyone know what happened to NEC? They were a force to be reckoned with last season but this season, nothing to write home about. Only 1 win recorded in their last 5 games.

[LTU_btc]

The only winners from this weekend were AZ Alkmaar, Feyenoord and FC Twente. I knew that Twente vs PSV game will be a tough one for PSV but I never expected PSV to lose.  Twente fought very hard and won it. As much as I trust PSV, I decided to not back them this week, and instead go for totals for their game as PSV is very high scoring and Twente gets decent goals per match.


Does anyone know what happened to NEC? They were a force to be reckoned with last season but this season, nothing to write home about. Only 1 win recorded in their last 5 games.

Twente win was really surprising, especially considering how game was going. They were down 1:2 big part of game and scored 2 goals in last 15 minutes of game. Going into international break we have interesting situation - AZ is leading, but gaps between is very small and we have no clear favorite on top. At this moment, I have no idea who can be called as main favorite as from big teams now only AZ is showing stable good football, but I doubt they're capable to continue in this way all season long.
You asking about NEC, I have same question about Utrecht. Last season they were fighting for CL spots, now they're almost in relegation zone.

[welovebit]

Twente win was really surprising, especially considering how game was going. They were down 1:2 big part of game and scored 2 goals in last 15 minutes of game. Going into international break we have interesting situation - AZ is leading, but gaps between is very small and we have no clear favorite on top. At this moment, I have no idea who can be called as main favorite as from big teams now only AZ is showing stable good football, but I doubt they're capable to continue in this way all season long.
You asking about NEC, I have same question about Utrecht. Last season they were fighting for CL spots, now they're almost in relegation zone.

This is going to be interesting. AZ Alkmaar has done a good job from the start and is now back at the top, but after the break they are going to visit Feyenoord. This could be a tense game for both teams; both are undefeated after 7 rounds and still have enough to stay at the top, with PSV having their first loss of the season, but they are still one of the best sides.
 PSV always favorite for title but currently its looking good for Eredivisie things are balanced and top teams are having enough depth to give challenge each other Feyenoord attack are also giving best they already score 25 goals Ajax is still not at his best still options are not clear and any team can stay in top ranks.
In Europe still, things are not on level because mostly teams are having not enough depth to give challenges.

[pawel7777]

Twente defeating PSV 3-2 is not a huge surprise. We all knew it would not be an easy game for PSV. Both teams gave a good show. PSV dominated in ball possession (62%), but it was Twente that created more scoring chances, which converted into more goals.
That win means Twente has now the same points as PSV and they jumped above Ajax.

AZ are back at the top of the table after their modest 1-0 win over Telstar, and Feyenoord, who defeated Utrecht 5-0, are 2nd with two points behind.
So next round we're going to see a battle for 1st place, as Feyenoord is hosting AZ at home. Neither team has lost a league game this season, so it's going to be really interesting.