Preview: Heerenveen vs. Feyenoord - prediction, team news, lineups

The home side were heavily beaten in a 4-1 defeat against RKC Waalwijk in their last outing, while De Trots van Zuid continued their unbeaten streak this year in a 4-2 victory against Fortuna Sittard.

Match preview

It has been a relatively underwhelming season for De Superfriezen thus far, as they have been unable to kick on since landing a position in the Europa Conference League qualification places last season.

A lack of goalscoring prowess has cost them throughout the campaign, with Kees van Wonderen's men having only scored 24 goals in the Eredivisie this season, ranking the fourth-worst in the league in front of goal.

However, in their last match, it was defensively that they were picked apart by their opponents, as an early lead by Sydney van Hooijdonk was cancelled out when Waalwijk put four past Xavier Mous and made it a night to forget for the home side.

With only two wins in their last seven fixtures and having not kept a clean sheet in their last four games, it will be vital that Heerenveen are defensively compact in this matchup, as the side they face scored twice inside 35 minutes the last time they faced each other.

The hosts do not have a good record against the visitors in recent bouts but do have history on their side in this competition, as the last time they beat Feyenoord was in the KNVB Beker in 2021.

Meanwhile, De club aan de Maas are currently in a great position in the league, as they are three points clear of Ajax at the top of the Eredivisie table.

A 4-2 win in their most recent affair away against Fortuna Sittard displayed their ability to slice through opposition defences, as a rampant first-half display saw the 3-0 up by the half-time whistle.

Without a loss in their last 12 games and with only one loss in the league all season, Feyenoord will come into this cup quarter-final with supreme confidence that they can progress into the next round.

The away team have a superb record in recent years against their opponents, as they are unbeaten against Heerenveen in the last four outings between the two sides, having won three.

With Sebastian Szymanski not available for this match due to injury and Danilo struggling for form in front of goal, Javairo Dilrosun will be important for the away side in this clash, as the 24-year-old has become one of the most threatening attacking players in the side.

Heerenveen KNVB Beker form:

Heerenveen form (all competitions):

L

L

W

L

W

L

Feyenoord KNVB Beker form:

Feyenoord form (all competitions):

D

D

W

W

W

W

Team News

Despite the nature of the result in their last match, Kees van Wonderen is expected to remain with the same starting XI that lost against Waalwijk on the weekend.

Neither Andries Noppert nor Sven van Beek will be available for the quarter-final, as both players are currently out due to injury.

Arne Slot is also set to stay with the same XI that started in the 4-2 victory against Fortuna Sittard.

First-choice goalkeeper Justin Bijlow will not feature for his side in this match due to breaking his wrist in early February and is not expected to return to the side until late March, with Timon Wellenreuther starting in his place.

Sebastian Szymanski, Gernot Trauner, Quinten Timber and Patrik Walemark are all unavailable for the away team in this matchup, as they are all currently suffering from injuries.

Heerenveen possible starting lineup:

Mous; Van Ewijk, Bruma, Bochniewicz, Kohlert; Haye, Al Hajj, Olsson; Nunnely, Van Hooijdonk, Sahraoui

Feyenoord possible starting lineup:

Wellenreuther; Pederson, Geertruida, Hancko, Hartman; Wieffer, Kokcu; Jahanbakhsh, Dilrosun, Idrissi; Gimenez

We say: Heerenveen 0-2 Feyenoord

We believe that Feyenoord will be too strong for Heerenveen in this meeting and will continue their recent record against their opposition here.

We think that the away side will win this game more comfortably than they did in the Eredivisie recently and will progress into the KNVB Beker semi-final.

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