Saturday's Eredivisie predictions including Ajax vs. Heracles

PSV vs. Utrecht (Saturday, 3.30pm)

PSV Eindhoven welcome FC Utrecht to the Philips Stadion for their opening Eredivisie fixture of the 2023-24 season on Saturday afternoon.

The Lightbulbs will be hoping to make a bright start to the new campaign against a Utrecht side whom they thrashed 6-1 on home soil last October.

We say: PSV Eindhoven 3-1 FC Utrecht

With two competitive games already under their belt, the momentum is with PSV heading into Saturday's game and they will be regarded as firm favourites to claim maximum points here.

Utrecht frustrated PSV in their last meeting, playing out a 2-2 draw in March, but we believe the hosts will open their account for the new season with a positive result and performance at the Philips Stadion.

Heerenveen vs. RKC Waalwijk (Saturday, 5.45pm)

Heerenveen and RKC Waalwijk meet at the Abe Lenstra Stadion on the opening weekend of the Eredivisie season this Saturday.

Just one place separated the two sides last season, as Heerenveen edged out their upcoming opponents to a spot in the league's Europa Conference League playoffs.

We say: Heerenveen 2-2 RKC Waalwijk

Waalwijk's 4-1 win here last season continued a run of high-scoring encounters at this venue, as the previous four meetings have produced 19 goals.

Not much separated the sides last season, and this could be another close matchup on the opening day.

Ajax vs. Heracles (Saturday, 7.00pm)

Seeking to improve on their below-par efforts from last season, Ajax welcome newly-promoted Heracles to the Johan Cruijff ArenA for their opening Eredivisie match of the 2023-24 campaign on Saturday evening.

The two teams are facing each other for the first time since March 2022 when Ajax secured a comfortable 3-0 home victory.

We say: Ajax 2-0 Heracles

Heracles enter Saturday's clash in buoyant mood and will be hoping to take advantage of Ajax's poor end to pre-season by frustrating the host in Amsterdam on Saturday.

Despite the departure of a few key players from last season, we believe Steijn's side still have enough quality to claim maximum points and begin the new campaign on a positive note.

PEC Zwolle vs. Sparta (Saturday, 8.00pm)

Newly-promoted PEC Zwolle host Sparta Rotterdam on the opening weekend of the Eredivisie season this Saturday.

Zwolle bounced back to the top flight at the first time of asking last season, while Sparta enjoyed an excellent campaign fighting for the European places.

We say: PEC Zwolle 1-2 Sparta Rotterdam

On their return to the top flight, Zwolle have a difficult challenge ahead of them against a Sparta side who over-performed last season.

Sparta have retained much of that side, while Zwolle have lost some key players, so the visitors will be slight favourites.