Feyenoord will look to maintain their position at the top of the Eredivisie table when they face Heerenveen at the Abe Lenstra Stadion on Sunday.

Despite being separated by seven points and six places, the hosts enter this weekend’s match as arguably the more confident side, having won four straight matches, while the visitors are searching for their first victory in five outings.

Match preview

Picking up where they left off before the September/October international break, Feyenoord resumed with wins over AZ Alkmaar, Como, and Telstar to extend their winning streak to five matches, and few would have predicted the difficult spell that has followed.

Champions League defeats to Real Betis and, most recently, Inter Milan - coupled with Eredivisie draws against PSV Eindhoven and Fortuna Sittard - have seen Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men go four games without a win for the first time since January, when they went winless in six matches either side of the new year.

Despite their ongoing wobble, De Stadionclub still hold a slender lead at the top of the league and need to get back on track to maintain it. A defeat would not only end the division’s last remaining unbeaten record but could also drop them as low as fourth.

Since recording three straight wins between December 2021 and March 2024, Feyenoord have failed to beat Heerenveen in their last two away meetings and also suffered a KNVB Beker defeat to the same opponents last season.

With just two goals scored across their last four matches, Sunday’s visitors will first need to regain their attacking impetus, which has seen them average three goals per league game so far, second only to PSV’s 3.18.

While much of their opponents’ success this season has been down to attacking prowess, Heerenveen can lay claim to being one of the Eredivisie’s most defensively astute teams after 11 matches.

Second only to Twente and Feyenoord for fewest goals conceded, Robin Veldman’s men showcased their defensive solidity in a 1-0 victory over NEC last time out, securing a league-high fifth clean sheet.

De Superfriezen now boast wins in four straight competitive matches for the first time since September 2017, and a torrid run earlier this season, when they went five games without a victory, now seems a distant memory.

Only three teams in the division have collected more home points than Heerenveen’s 10, despite their modest return of eight goals in six matches. Facing a team without a clean sheet in six outings, they will be confident of adding to that tally.

Having broken the deadlock in five of their last six matches, Sunday’s visitors have made a habit of starting games as they mean to go, but so have Feyenoord, whose 33 goals have had nine of them come in the opening half hour.

Heerenveen Eredivisie form:

Heerenveen form (all competitions):

Feyenoord Eredivisie form:

Feyenoord form (all competitions):

Team News

Levi Smans marked his return to action for Heerenveen with an assist, and the hosts now boast a clean bill of health for the first time in some time.

Dylan Vente’s winner against NEC was his third goal in four matches, taking his tally to five direct goal contributions this season.

Jordan Bos, Jakub Moder, and Bart Nieuwkoop remain unavailable for Feyenoord due to knee injuries, while Gijs Smal is sidelined with an ankle problem.

Thomas Beelen and Jeremiah St. Juste complete the visitors’ list of absentees, with Beelen still awaiting his first appearance since July 2025.

Anis Hadj Moussa has been his side’s standout attacker this term, and despite an ineffective display against Inter in midweek, he remains one to watch.

Heerenveen possible starting lineup:

Klaverboer; Braude, Kersten, Willemsen, Zagaritis; Linday, Courtens; Trenskow, Smans, Rivera; Vente

Feyenoord possible starting lineup:

Ernst; Lopez, Marmol, Watanabe, Read; Targhalline, Vanhoutte, Zechiel; Valente, Ferri, Hadj Moussa

We say: Heerenveen 1-2 Feyenoord

Feyenoord appear vulnerable at the moment, so there may be no better time for an in-form Heerenveen side to attempt an upset than this weekend.

That said, good teams are defined by their ability to respond during difficult spells, and we expect Feyenoord to return to winning ways on Sunday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.