Newly promoted Willem II will be looking to keep their unbeaten Eredivisie record intact this weekend when they face off against Heracles at Asito Stadion on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts are in 13th place after two gameweeks with just a single point to their name, while the visitors are in sixth place with four points from their first two top-flight matches.
Match preview
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Having survived the drop in their first season back in the Eredivisie in 2023-24, albeit by a fairly slender margin, Heracles will be hoping to pull further away from the dotted line this season in an attempt to establish themselves as a genuine top-flight outfit.
To do that, though, they will need to show significant improvement from their first two games of the term, which began with a very blunt attacking performance in a goalless draw away to Sparta Rotterdam.
In week two, HAFC made a much better start, scoring inside the first five minutes against Feyenoord at home, but the side fell apart in the second period and ended up losing the match 3-1, though the scoreline could have been worse.
Still, those results came against sides that ended last season well inside the top half and the upcoming fixture would undoubtedly have been the one that Erwin van de Looi had marked down as the most winnable over the opening three weeks of the campaign.
However, Heracles ended last season with three losses and a draw in their final four home games and only managed a 1-1 draw when they last faced this opponent at this venue in the Eerste Divisie in February last year.
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Meanwhile, Willem II returned to the top flight this term after spending two seasons in the Eerste Divisie, and so far, they will be thrilled with the start they have made, still unbeaten after two very tricking opening fixtures.
The first saw Superkruiken snatch a late point with a 1-1 draw away to Feyenoord and they carried the momentum gained from that result into week two when they beat Go Ahead Eagles 2-0 at home.
With those results, Peter Maes's side are now unbeaten in their last 12 competitive matches, including seven wins and five draws - a run that extends back to a 1-0 defeat by Emmen on March 1.
The visitors ended last season unbeaten in their final five away matches and only conceded two defeats on the road in 2023-24, which was the second-best record in the Eerste Divisie behind Roda.
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Team News
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A major contributing factor to Heracles' poor start to the season is their lengthy injury list which is now up to eight players with Diego van Oorschot being the most recent addition.
The centre-forward joins Sava-Arangel Cestic, Nikolai Laursen, Stijn Bultman, Justin Hoogma, Jizz Hornkamp, Jan Zamburek and strike partner Luka Kulenovic on the sidelines this weekend.
Willem also have a new injury concern, with midfielder Dani Mathieu picking up a knock in training and he has been flagged as a major doubt for this weekend's trip to Almelo.
Niels van Berkel underwent surgery to his knee at the start of the year and is still some way from returning to full fitness, while Erik Schouten is ruled out until next month with a tweaked hamstring.
Heracles possible starting lineup:
De Keijzer; Benita, Mesik, Mirani, Roosken; Limbombe, Van Kaam, De Keersmaecker, Talvitie; Zand; Engels
Willem II possible starting lineup:
Didillon-Hodl; Doodeman, Tirpan, Behounek, St. Jago, Sigurgeirsson; Bosch, Lachkar, Meerveld; Vaesen, Sandra
We say: Heracles 1-1 Willem II
Willem have made a very promising start to their top-flight season, and while they are the visitors this weekend, we feel they will be able to take something off this Heracles side that are still searching for top gear.
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Devesh Jaganath
