Heerenveen and RKC Waalwijk meet at the Abe Lenstra Stadion on the opening weekend of the Eredivisie season this Saturday.

Just one place separated the two sides last season, as Heerenveen edged out their upcoming opponents to a spot in the league's Europa Conference League playoffs.

Match preview

Heerenveen sneaked into the UECL playoffs last season with just 46 points from 34 games at the expense of Waalwijk.

Eight points from their final four games aided that push - scoring eight in the process - including a 3-3 draw away at PSV Eindhoven.

In the playoffs though, they were no match for eventual winners Twente, who thrashed them 6-1 on aggregate in their semi-final.

After 15 straight seasons of European football in the 1990s and 2000s, Heerenveen have now gone 12 years without continental action following a second consecutive defeat in the playoffs.

Their pre-season preparations have seen Kees van Wonderen's side face an eclectic mix of opponents, playing five sides from five different nations.

Heerenveen comfortably beat Emden of Germany and OFI Crete from Greece, but they were beaten to nil by Metz, Huddersfield Town and Belgian side Westerlo.

After an exciting finish was on the horizon for Waalwijk, Joseph Oosting's men bombed out spectacularly last season to gift Heerenveen that final playoff spot.

Waalwijk were in eighth heading into the final three games, but awful form cost them at the worst possible time.

They lost all three by an aggregate score of 11-0 as Heerenveen leapfrogged them into the final position.

Those sort of results were on the cards though, as Waalwijk's form prior to that collapse was not great either, as their final eight games produced six defeats and 24 goals conceded.

Form on the road proved very costly for RKC, taking just 11 points from their 17 away games last season, as their home form alone would have seen them finish seventh.

Unfortunately for them, their pre-season form has been a continuation of that late-season collapse despite the appointment of new boss Henk Fraser, winning just one of their six friendlies, losing the final three.

Fellow Eredivisie sides Nijmegen and Sparta Rotterdam got the better of them, as well as Paderborn and Marseille.

A tricky start awaits too, as Waalwijk's first four home games of the season see them matched up against AZ Alkmaar, PSV, Twente and Ajax.

The Waalwijk faithful may take confidence from the fact their side won 4-1 here last season, though.

Team News

Moldova international Ion Nicolaescu represents an intriguing purchase for Heerenveen this summer, after completing a move over the weekend.

Nicolaescu scored two in Moldova's incredible 3-2 comeback win over Poland in June, and he notched 15 for Beitar Jerusalem last season.

England Under-19 international Charlie Webster has also arrived from Chelsea on a season-long-loan and could make his debut here.

Heerenveen have lost Milan van Ewijk to Coventry City over the summer though, one of their standout individuals from last season at full-back.

Jeffrey Bruma could make his Waalwijk debut here against the side he left over the summer to join them.

The central defender may not be the only ex-Heerenveen player to feature for the visitors either, as Filip Stevanovic could make his first appearance after joining from Manchester City on Monday.

After a frustrating spell at Santa Clara last season, the Serbian will hope to be given a chance to replicate the form at Partizan Belgrade which led City to buy him two years ago.

The duo are just two of the nine new faces at Waalwijk this summer, and Denilho Cleonise and Godfried Roemeratoe are another two expected to make their first starts.

Heerenveen possible starting lineup:
Noppert; Bochniewicz, Ali, Van Ottele, Kohlert; Van Amersfoot, Haye, Tahiri; Olsson, Nicolaescu, Webster

RKC Waalwijk possible starting lineup:
Vaessen; Lelieveld, Gaari, Adewoye, Van den Buijs, Lutonda; Vroegh, Roemeratoe, Felida; Cleonise, Kramer

We say: Heerenveen 2-2 RKC Waalwijk

Waalwijk's 4-1 win here last season continued a run of high-scoring encounters at this venue, as the previous four meetings have produced 19 goals.

Not much separated the sides last season, and this could be another close matchup on the opening day.


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