Dutch Eredivisie Football 2012-2013 - Second Round Schedule Sunday

FC Groningen - Willem II

FC Groningen-fans are expecting a home when their team encounters Willem II. First there was the big loss last week when they played FC Twente (4-1). Second, their squad is reckoned to have more quality than their opponent. Then again, Willem II who promoted from the Jupiler league last year proved in the opening match that they will fight for every inch. They lost in the dying minutes of the game. Odds are against them, though. In the last 3 matches between the teams FC Groningen won all of them, scoring a total of 14 goals against 1.

ADO Den Haag - RKC Waalwijk

Over the years ADO Den Haag proved to be a tough team to beat at home, for any opponent. RKC Waalwijk on the other hand will be very confident after beating PSV last week, predicted by many to win the league. Last season RKC waalwijk managed to win both fixtures playing ADO Den Haag, home and away, but there wasn't much that separated the teams. Both times they won with the narrowest of margins (1-0). Overall, the 9 matches the teams played each other in Den Haag are perfectly balanced, 3 wins for ADO, 3 wins for RKC and 3 draws.

AZ – Heracles Almelo

Critics are unanimous in predicting a home-win for AZ when they play Heracles Almelo. The only time Heracles did win was last year in the semi-final of the Dutch cup. They did need extra time to do that, as the score was tied after 90 minutes. This is the first time AZ is able to take revenge for missing last year’s final. Even though AZ didn’t win last week playing Ajax, they have a better chance of winning today. Heracles opened their game rather well last week, but fell short in the end.

NEC - Ajax

NEC played a decent game last week, resulting in a good win for them (SC Heereveen-away, 0-2). But it is quite a while ago they were able to beat Ajax. That goes for the matches at home and away. Perhaps NEC will be able to cause a surprise today. They will be confident as result of their performance and they have their fans to support them. Ajax lost another key player (Vurnon Anita; sold to Newcastle United) and not everybody is entirely fit. But a team like Ajax should be able to deal with that.