Willem II vs SBV Excelsior - prediction, team news, lineups

Willem II big SBV Excelsior astatine the Koning Willem II Stadion successful Tilburg connected Saturday successful the Eredivisie, hoping to enactment smiles connected the faces of their fans.

John Stegeman’s broadside participate the play aft a battling 2-2 gully with Heerenveen ended their two-match losing start, portion Ruben den Uil’s squad are buoyed by a Rotterdam derby triumph implicit Sparta pursuing an opening-day rout of Cambuur and a constrictive decision by PSV Eindhoven.

Match preview

Willem II person not won a league lucifer since returning to the Eredivisie, and Saturday brings the archetypal realistic accidental to extremity that run.

Stegeman's broadside went up arsenic third-placed finishers from the Eerste Divisie past season, beating Volendam connected penalties successful the play-off last aft a 3-3 aggregate score.

Three matchdays backmost successful the apical formation person brought 1 point, 4 goals scored and 10 conceded, a antiaircraft grounds that has near Tilburg anxious alternatively than celebratory.

Both head-to-head past and early-season signifier constituent toward goals, and the Tricolores request this Saturday to commencement turning agleam performances into points.

The 2 sides person met six times crossed the past decade, with 2 wins apiece and 2 draws, with the astir caller meeting, successful December 2022, ending successful a 3-1 triumph for Willem II.

Excelsior spell to Tilburg connected Saturday successful acold amended signifier than the nine that greeted their ain instrumentality to the Eredivisie lone 16 months ago.

Den Uil's broadside were relegated astatine the extremity of the 2023-24 play aft 2 years successful the apical flight, past bounced consecutive backmost by finishing 2nd successful the Eerste Divisie.

A archetypal play backmost brought 38 points and 13th place, comfy capable to debar the play-off places by six points.

Three matches into their 2nd play since promotion, the Kralingers beryllium ninth with six points.

Their opening-day travel to Cambuur produced a connection 4-0 win, with Naujoks scoring doubly and further goals from David Garden and Irakli Yegoian.

A 1-2 location decision to PSV Eindhoven brought them backmost to earth, but Excelsior responded past play with a 2-1 triumph implicit Sparta Rotterdam successful the Rotterdam derby.

Three matches person brought 7 goals scored, 3 conceded and six points, signifier that puts Excelsior comfortably wide of the relegation portion they occupied for ample stretches of past season.

Willem II Eredivisie form:

SBV Excelsior Eredivisie form:

Team News

Nathan Tjoe-A-On has been the standout attacking outlet from left-back, starring the full Eredivisie for large chances created with four, and helium has already registered 2 assists this season.

Calvin Twigt was outstanding successful the gully with Heerenveen, creating 5 chances including 3 rated arsenic large opportunities, and helium is expected to support his spot alongside the much defensively-minded Kasper Boogaard successful cardinal midfield.

Eser Gurbuz and Jaden Slory are acceptable to supply the width again, with Van Aalst operating centrally successful down Haen, who has scored doubly successful 3 league appearances and remains the club's main penalty-box threat.

Naujoks is Excelsior's starring scorer again this play with 2 goals successful 3 matches, Yegoian has been the club's astir productive creator truthful far, contributing to the opening-day rout of Cambuur and continuing to pb the team's accidental instauration successful league play.

Den Uil has mostly kept religion with the spine of past season's endurance side, and the aforesaid antiaircraft subject that made Woudestein hard to people against past word volition beryllium needed distant from location this weekend.

Willem II imaginable starting lineup:

De Leeuw; Ter Avest, Stam, Hoogma, Tjoe-A-On; Boogaard, Twigt; Gurbuz, Van Aalst, Slory; Haen

SBV Excelsior imaginable starting lineup:

Van Gassel; Meissen, Widell, Plug, Janssen; Hartjes, Yegoian, Van Vianen; Sliti, Garden, Thorsteinsson

We say: Willem II 1-2 SBV Excelsior

Willem II showed existent signs of beingness successful the Heerenveen draw, but a antiaircraft grounds of 10 goals conceded successful 3 matches is excessively leaky to spot against a squad that scored 4 astatine Cambuur.

Excelsior's counter-attacking approach, built astir Naujoks and Yegoian, should find abstraction against a Willem II backmost enactment inactive adjusting to the gait of the apical flight, but the visitor’s other sharpness successful beforehand of extremity should beryllium capable to settee this 1 successful Rotterdam's favour.

For information investigation of the astir apt results, scorelines and much for this lucifer delight click here.