Burkina Faso
Czech Republic
EL Salvador
Indonesia
Lithuania
Montenegro
North Macedonia
South Africa
United Arab Emirates

Almere Cityvs.Heracles

sportsmole.co.uk, 17 January 2025, 16:53
A key battle at the bottom end of the Eredivisie table will take place at Yanmar Stadion on Sunday, as Almere City welcome Heracles.

The hosts currently sit in the automatic relegation zone, while their visitors are five points better off and two above the relegation playoff place after 17 league games.

Match preview

Almere City return to Eredivisie action on Sunday aiming to continue their climb towards safety, having shown encouraging signs in their last two outings after a dismal first half to the campaign.

In mid-December, De Zwarte Schapen sat at the foot of the table on just six points from 16 league outings in their second straight top-flight campaign, having won just one of those and suffered six straight defeats at the back end of 2024, culminating in a 3-0 beating away at Ajax.

They were able to end their wait for a second Eredivisie win of the campaign in their final game of last year, though, hosting ninth-placed Heerenveen before Christmas and picking up a 3-0 triumph of their own thanks to second-half goals from Adi Nalic, Joey Jacobs and Alex Balboa.

Then following the January appointment of Jeroen Rijsdijk, they kicked off the new year with a trip to Groningen last weekend and added another point to their tally as the contest ended goalless at Euroborg.

Thanks to their slight improvement over the last two outings, albeit with concerns remaining as no side has scored as few as their 10 goals in their 18 matches thus far, Almere City sit three points behind the relegation playoff place and five adrift of automatic safety, and they will hope to further narrow those gaps by adding a third notch to their wins column and a first under Risdijk on Sunday.

Their visitors, meanwhile, head to Yanmar Stadion hoping to increase their slender lead over the bottom three in the midst of a rut in the Dutch top flight.

Following a 14th-placed finish in their first season back in the Eredivisie last time around, Heracles sat on 12 points from their first 11 outings this term, having won three of those and lost five, but they have since added just three more points to that tally in the last six attempts.

Their struggles have largely come in defence thus far, with only the bottom two having conceded more than the 34 goals that the Heraclieden have allowed in 17 games, and their 2024 culminating in a 5-2 thrashing at the hands of Feyenoord, stretching a winless run to five league matches.

Erwin van de Looi's side then returned to action at home to Sparta Rotterdam last weekend and were able to, at least, snatch a point from a 1-1 draw thanks to Justin Hoogma's injury-time leveller, before most recently visiting De Graafschap on Thursday and booking a quarter-final spot with a 2-0 triumph courtesy of goals from Thomas Bruns and Suf Podgoreanu.

Now aiming to kick on from that cup win and extend their three-point lead over the relegation playoff place and five-point lead over the bottom two, Heracles will go in search of an important victory on Sunday to move eight points clear of the hosts.

Almere City Eredivisie form:

L

L

L

L

W

D

Heracles Eredivisie form:

L

D

L

D

L

D

Heracles form (all competitions):

L

D

L

W

D

W

Team News

Jeroen Rijsdijk should field a similar Almere City starting XI to last week's draw with Groningen, with Hamdi Akujobi, Joey Jacobs, Theo Barbet and Vasilios Zagaritis bound to continue in a back four after consecutive clean sheets.

With no player in the squad having netted more than two goals so far this season, Charles-Andreas Brym should again lead the line after making his debut last time out, likely with support from Jochem Ritmeester van de Kamp, Thomas Robinet and either Junior Kadile or Adi Nalic.

Heracles are set to remain without Sava-Arangel Cestic, Nikolai Laursen and Luka Kulenovic, who leads the squad with six goals this term, due to ongoing injury issues.

In the latter's expected absence, Jizz Hornkamp should continue to lead the line, while Thomas Bruns will hope to again line up in support after scoring in their midweek cup win.

Indeed, he could again join Mario Engels and Juho Talvitie, while Jan Zamburek will hope to keep his place alongside mainstay Brian De Keersmaecker in the engine room.

Almere City possible starting lineup:

Bakker; Akujobi, Jacobs, Barbet, Zagaritis; Tahiri, Haye; Ritmeester van de Kamp, Robinet, Nalic; Brym

Heracles possible starting lineup:

De Keijzer; Wieckhoff, Mesik, Hoogma, Milani; Zamburek, De Keersmaecker; Talvitie, Bruns, Engels; Hornkamp

We say: Almere City 1-1 Heracles

We certainly expect a tight contest on Sunday between two sides who have struggled for large parts of the 2024-25 campaign thus far in what is a crucial game in the battle for survival.

Written by

Sam Varley

Previews by email
Show more

Top News

2 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Eredivisie giants PSV Eindhoven and Premier League powerhouses Arsenal both have some recent wrongs to right in Tuesday's Champions League last-16 first leg at the Philips Stadion. 2 March 2025 talksport.com talkSPORT has you covered for all the latest news as the FA Cup takes centre stage this weekend. 2 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will have Myles Lewis-Skelly back at his disposal for Tuesday's Champions League last-16 first leg away to PSV Eindhoven. 2 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk PSV Eindhoven new boy Lucas Perez will be denied a reunion with former club Arsenal when his side welcome the Gunners to the Philips Stadion for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday. 2 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Clashing in European competition for the third year running, Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven and Premier League powerhouses Arsenal meet at the Philips Stadion on Tuesday for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie. 2 March 2025 talksport.com Wigan have sacked manager Shaun Maloney just hours after their defeat to Reading on Saturday. 2 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid will welcome Atletico Madrid to Bernabeu on Tuesday night for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash. 2 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Atletico Madrid attacker Julian Alvarez can close in on a Rojiblancos record when his side face fierce rivals Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash at the Bernabeu on Tuesday. 2 March 2025 talksport.com Dele Alli was named in the Como matchday squad for the first time this weekend. 2 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham remains on the naughty step for Tuesday's Champions League last-16 first leg with Madrid derby rivals Atletico Madrid at the Bernabeu. 2 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Inter Milan are reportedly considering making a move for Manchester United attacker Mason Mount during this summer's transfer window. 2 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Flashpoints and flair are to be expected in the pick of the Champions League last-16 ties, as bitterest foes Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid meet at the Bernabeu in Tuesday's first leg. 2 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United Under-18s head coach Adam Lawrence has said that the Red Devils are "really excited" about the development of Jaydan Kamason, who could soon be handed a first-team opportunity at the club. 2 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Meeting for a second time in this season's Champions League, Club Brugge and Aston Villa will clash at Jan Breydelstadion on Tuesday evening, in the first leg of their last-16 tie. 2 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has said that summer departures at Old Trafford are inevitable, with the Red Devils expected to make sweeping changes in order to be able to boost their squad for the 2025-26 campaign. 2 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arguably now Mikel Arteta's best shot at bringing silverware to the Arsenal faithful this season, the Gunners return to a Champions League setting on Tuesday evening, facing PSV Eindhoven in the first leg of their last-16 clash. 2 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk All transfer business is done and dusted for this season, but that doesn't stop clubs from preparing ahead for next season. 2 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Vancouver vs. LA Galaxy (Sunday, 10.00pm) The Vancouver Whitecaps can win their first two matches of a Major League Soccer campaign for the first time since 2018 when they host the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday at BC Place Stadium. 2 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Caykur Rizespor vs. Alanyaspor (Sunday, 10.30am) As both sides look to define their season in the Turkish Super Lig, Caykur Rizespor are set to host Alanyaspor at the Caykur Didi Stadyumu on Sunday. 2 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Heerenveen vs. AZ (Sunday, 11.15am) Aiming to make it four straight league victories and crack the top three of the Eredivisie table, AZ Alkmaar will travel to the Abe Lenstra Stadion to take on Heerenveen on Sunday. 2 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Leganes vs. Getafe (Sunday, 1.00pm) Getafe will be bidding to return to winning ways in Spain's top flight when they head to Leganes on Sunday afternoon. 2 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Monza vs. Torino (Sunday, 11.30am) Serie A's bottom club Monza will try to spark an unlikely escape from relegation on Sunday, when they face mid-table Torino. 2 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Union Berlin vs. Holstein Kiel (Sunday, 2.30pm) Holstein Kiel must start picking up points to avoid relegation from the Bundesliga, beginning on Sunday away from home against Union Berlin at Stadion An der Alten Forsterei. 2 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Lyon vs. Brest (Sunday, 2.00pm) Lyon will be aiming to return to winning ways when they welcome a struggling Brest side for round 24 of Ligue 1 this Sunday. 2 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Hibernian vs. Hearts (Sunday, 12.30pm) Two sides looking to strengthen their places in the top six of the Scottish Premiership will come together on Sunday afternoon as Hibernian host Hearts at the Easter Road Stadium. 2 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Newcastle vs. Brighton (Sunday, 1.45pm) Continuing their pursuit of a domestic cup double, Newcastle United take on Brighton & Hove Albion in Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final showdown at St James' Park. 2 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has reportedly set his sight on playing at the 2026 World Cup and is ready to accept a reduced role with the Citizens next season in order to secure his place with Belgium at the tournament. 1 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool have reportedly monitored Georgian wonderkid Saba Kharebashvili amidst interest from Barcelona and Real Madrid. 1 March 2025 talksport.com Wilfried Zaha has wasted no time adjusting to life in MLS with Charlotte FC. 1 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk In a clash that could impact the race for European football and the relegation battle in the Turkish Super Lig, Istanbul Basaksehir are set to host Sivasspor at Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium on Monday.
Something went wrong! Don't hesitate to let us know if you need any help.