Eredivisie matchday 9 preview: Feyenoord at Telstar, PSV in The Hague, Groningen v Ajax

Feyenoord go into the round top, a point clear after beating AZ 2–0, and they are the only unbeaten side left. PSV and AZ are level on 19 behind them, Twente are fourth on 17, and all four leaders face sides in the bottom half. Feyenoord's trip to Telstar on Saturday evening comes three days after a Champions League match; PSV go to bottom-but-one ADO Den Haag earlier that afternoon. The fixture to watch first is on Sunday: Groningen, sixth on 14, host Ajax, fifth on 15, at the Euroborg.

Friday

Heerenveen v Excelsior (18:00 UTC, Abe Lenstra Stadion). Heerenveen, tenth on nine, lost 2–0 at PSV; Excelsior, ninth on eleven, lost 5–1 at home to Groningen after leading the shot count 16 to 14. Heerenveen won both meetings last season, 2–1 here in October 2025 and 2–1 in Rotterdam in March; Excelsior had won 3–0 in each of the two before that.

Saturday

ADO Den Haag v PSV (14:30 UTC, Bingoal Stadion). ADO are seventeenth on three, without a win in eight, and drew 2–2 at Telstar after Milan Hokke was sent off on 13 minutes. PSV, second on 19, beat Heerenveen 2–0 and then lost 1–0 at RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday, when Ivan Perišić had a penalty saved, NOS reports. Before that trip, NOS reported that Peter Bosz had no new injuries, that Ricardo Pepi and Sam Lammers had short-term problems, and that Alassane Pléa, out with a knee injury, can return in 2027 at the earliest. Their last league meeting was a 2–2 here in February 2021; PSV won the cup tie in Eindhoven 3–1 in March 2023. Van den Kerkhof referees, Voetbal International lists.

Telstar v Feyenoord (18:00 UTC, Sportpark Schoonenberg). Telstar, fifteenth on six, have one win and drew 2–2 with ten-man ADO despite 30 shots and 68 per cent of the ball. Feyenoord have won four league matches in a row and then beat Como 3–2 in the Champions League on Wednesday. Luciano Valente came off at half-time against Como after feeling something; Giovanni van Bronckhorst said they did not want to take a risk and would know more the next day, NOS reports. Before that match, the coach mentioned that Gjivai Zechiël had been unusually tired after the AZ game and that Tsuyoshi Watanabe was returning from injury, according to NOS. Feyenoord won both meetings last season 2–1, here in November 2025 and at home in February. Manschot referees, VI lists.

Sparta Rotterdam v Willem II (19:00 UTC, Sparta Stadium Het Kasteel). Sparta Rotterdam, fourteenth on six, drew 3–3 at Go Ahead Eagles with M. Zonneveld scoring at both ends; Willem II are bottom on two, without a win, and lost 3–1 at Utrecht. Sparta won the last three competitive meetings: 5–1 at Willem II in the cup in December 2025, 4–0 here in March 2025 and 2–1 in Tilburg in August 2024.

Sunday

PEC Zwolle v Go Ahead Eagles (10:15 UTC). PEC Zwolle, sixteenth on four, have lost three in a row, 1–0 at home to Cambuur last time, and have scored six, the fewest in the division. Go Ahead Eagles, eighth on eleven, have drawn their last four. Go Ahead won 5–0 at home in April and 2–0 in Zwolle in September 2025.

Cambuur v AZ (12:30 UTC, Kooi Stadion). Cambuur, twelfth on eight, won 1–0 at PEC Zwolle with a goal on 83 minutes. AZ lost for the first time this season at Feyenoord and play Hapoel Beer Sheva in the Europa League on Thursday. Kees Smit was hurt with Jong Oranje and is out for several weeks, the club says, while Jizz Hornkamp is coming back from injury. The last league meeting was in February 2023, a 2–1 AZ win in Alkmaar; AZ won 1–0 here in August 2022 and 3–1 here in October 2021.

Groningen v Ajax (14:45 UTC, Euroborg). Groningen won 5–1 at Excelsior with nine shots on target; B. Willumsson and T. van Bergen have five league goals each. Ajax drew 1–1 with NEC and play Hajduk Split in the Conference League on Thursday. Voetbal International reports that Simon Adingra did not travel to Split, unfit, and that Daley Blind, Steven Berghuis, Anton Gaaei and Caio Henrique are not yet fit enough to play; Kasper Dolberg has had surgery on a cruciate ligament, NOS reports. Groningen won 3–1 here in March, and the meeting here in May 2025 finished 2–2; Ajax won 2–0 at home in May and in December 2025. Higler referees, VI lists.

NEC v Fortuna Sittard (18:00 UTC, Goffertstadion). NEC, eleventh on nine, drew 1–1 at Ajax and host Levski Sofia in the Europa League on Thursday; Fortuna Sittard, seventh on 14, drew 1–1 with Twente. Fortuna won the last two meetings 3–2, here in February and at home in August 2025; NEC won 4–1 here in January 2025.

Twente v Utrecht (18:00 UTC, De Grolsch Veste). Twente, fourth on 17, drew 1–1 at Fortuna Sittard and play FC Thun in the Conference League on Thursday; they have conceded eight, level with AZ. Utrecht, thirteenth on eight, beat Willem II 3–1 with two goals from Y. Cathline, but have conceded 25, the most in the division. Utrecht won 2–0 here in March; Twente won 2–1 in Utrecht in the cup in January, and the league meeting there in December 2025 was 1–1.

The table before the round

#	Team	P	GD	Pts
1	Feyenoord	8	+20	20
2	PSV	8	+16	19
3	AZ	8	+10	19
4	Twente	8	+8	17
5	Ajax	8	+12	15
6	Groningen	8	+6	14
7	Fortuna Sittard	8	−1	14
…
15	Telstar	8	−7	6
16	PEC Zwolle	8	−15	4
17	ADO Den Haag	8	−10	3
18	Willem II	8	−16	2

PSV play first among the leaders and can go top for a few hours with a win on Saturday afternoon; Feyenoord answer that evening, and AZ and Twente play on Sunday.

Numbers to know

• S. Tengstedt of Go Ahead Eagles leads the scorers with six; seven players, three of them from Feyenoord, have five.
• Feyenoord have scored 27 and conceded seven, both the best in the division; Utrecht have conceded 25.
• Feyenoord are the only unbeaten club; ADO Den Haag and Willem II the only ones without a win.
• Go Ahead Eagles have drawn five of their eight matches, the most in the division.
• PEC Zwolle have scored six goals in eight matches, Telstar and Willem II seven each.

The full round with kick-off times in your time zone is on the Eredivisie page.

Sources for the context: NOS, NOS, NOS, NOS, NOS, AZ, Voetbal International, Voetbal International.