Utrecht vs Heerenveen prediction: NETHERLANDS: Eredivisie betting tips on match 2023-08-19 10:15.
Fans of FC Utrecht will have the opportunity to meet all of the new faces who will represent the club this season in their first home game of 2023/24 on Sunday. Utrecht have already brought in no fewer than 12 reinforcements after adding Ryan Flamingo from Sassuolo during the week. Michael Silberbauer’s side may have opened their campaign with a 2-0 away loss, but they didn’t make life easy for PSV Eindhoven.
The arrival of Greek goalkeeper Vasilios Barkas may have caused some discontent amongst his competitors for the starting position, but he was Utrecht’s standout player on the day, earning a team-best Flashscore player rating of 7.5. Looking ahead, their encounters with this week’s opposition generally yield more success – in fact, the last four meetings between these sides have seen Utrecht emerge victorious each time.
SC Heerenveen began their season at home to RKC Waalwijk with a 3-1 win to Kees van Wonderen’s side. Osame Sahraoui, renowned more so for setting up goals than finishing them, registered his second goal in a Heerenveen kit. Debutant Ion Nicolaescu confidently buried his first goal for the Frisians.
Nicolaescu, together with Denzel Hall and Charlie Webster, are the three new arrivals in what is otherwise a fairly stable side compared with last season, for Heerenveen lost only Milan van Ewijk. The well-maintained squad are going to have to try to break old habits this weekend, after losing seven of their last eight away games in De Galgenwaard and taking one point from the other. Perhaps a 70% win-draw rate as travelling outsiders last Eredivisie season (W2, D5, L3) can inspire them to deny Utrecht their first win of the campaign!
Players to watch: Utrecht’s Thom Haye had one of the best games of his career in 2021/22 when he helped NAC Breda to a 3-2 cup win over Utrecht with two goals and an assist. More recently, Anastasios Douvikas scored in both matches against Heerenveen last season.
Hot streak: Heerenveen have not won any of their last ten games against Utrecht.