We have a rescheduled matchday 25 fixture this week in the Eredivisie, with Feyenoord taking on Groningen at Stadion Feijenoord on Wednesday night.
A victory for the hosts in this match will see them leapfrog Utrecht into third place in the league standings heading into the final seven games of the 2024-25 season.
Match preview
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Having lost to PSV Eindhoven in the quarter-final of the KNVB Beker in February and bowing out of the Champions League against Inter Milan last month, Feyenoord's major goal for the remainder of this season will now be to secure at least Europa League qualification.
De club aan de Maas returned from the international break with a hard-fought 3-2 victory against Go Ahead Eagles over the weekend, which extended their unbeaten league run to six matches (W4 D2 L0).
However, they were made to work for the points against the pride of the IJssel, who levelled proceedings twice in the match before Igor Paixao found what turned out to be the winner in the 74th minute.
That result helped maintain Robin van Persie's unbeaten record for his new club after four games (W3 D1 L0), a period during which his side scored an impressive 11 goals but also conceded five.
The hosts have also avoided defeat in their last four home games in the top flight, winning three and drawing one, while they have only suffered defeat twice in 13 matches at Stadion Feijenoord so far this season.
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Meanwhile, Groningen have enjoyed an excellent return to the top flight, having almost doubled their points tally from their relegation season after just 26 games, while they are also right in the thick of the battle for European qualification.
The Pride of the North entered the international break unbeaten in four games (W3 D1 L0), and returned to action with a 1-1 draw away to NAC Breda over the weekend, when they only conceded the lead after being reduced to 10 men.
Dick Lukkien's side has now managed 15 points in their last eight league games (W4 D3 L1) - a massive improvement after only taking 10 points from their preceding 15 matches since the end of August.
However, the one area the visitors will want to improve over the final stretch of the season will be their away record, as they have only managed a single win in their last 12 outings this term, which was against relegation candidates Willem II in February.
Team News
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Feyenoord have been hit hard by injuries this season and could be without as many as 10 players for this match, including long-term absentees Jordan Lotomba, Justin Bijlow and Chris-Kevin Nadje.
Bart Nieuwkoop sustained an ankle injury in mid-February, and he, along with Quinten Timber (knee surgery) and Calvin Stengs (ankle), are likely to remain sidelined for the remainder of the season.
On a positive note, Hugo Bueno and Ayase Ueda, who picked up knocks ahead of the international break, are back in training and both are in contention to feature in the matchday squad this week.
Groningen, on the other hand, will have to make do without the services of Tika de Jonge for this trip to Rotterdam, as he was the player who was sent off late in the game against NAC over the weekend.
The visitors also have four players ruled out for this match due to injury in Sven Bouland, Mats Seuntjens, Fofin Turay and Dirk Baron, while Marvin Peersman could get his first start since recovering from a broken foot.
Feyenoord possible starting lineup:
Wellenreuther; Read, Beelen, Bueno; Moder, Hwang, Milambo; Paixao; Carranza, Moussa
Groningen possible starting lineup:
Vaessen; Rente, Ekdal, Blokzijl, Prins; Resink, Schreuders; Seuntjens, Valente, Kwakman; Willumsson
We say: Feyenoord 3-1 Groningen
While Feyenoord have not been at their absolute best this season, they are unbeaten in their last eight matches against this opponent, and we feel they will be able to extend that record with another win in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
