Holland Jia Preview: Rotterdam Spartans Drew with Strong Opponent Last Round, Feyenoord’s Attack is Fully Loaded

At 20:30 on August 25th, the third round of the Dutch Eredivisie will see Rotterdam Spartans host strong team Feyenoord at the Sparta Stadium.

In the second round of the Eredivisie held last weekend, Rotterdam Spartans drew 1-1 as a visitor with European competition team Twente. The team’s main striker, Norwegian Lauritsen, scored his first goal of the season, helping Rotterdam to leave this tough away game unscathed, and also salvaging some face after being held to a goalless draw by Hercules in the opening home game. According to the schedule, Rotterdam Spartans will face Willem II, Excelsior, VVV-Venlo, and Fortuna Sittard, four teams not overly superior on paper, in the four rounds of league matches in September. This means that the team still has hopes of grabbing points early in the season.

Currently, in the Eredivisie standings, Rotterdam Spartans temporarily rank 12th with two draws. In the league last season, they finished 8th with 14 wins, 7 draws, and 13 losses, successfully advancing to the Europa Conference League playoff qualification zone. However, they lost 1-3 to Utrecht in the first leg of the qualifiers and missed out on participating in the Europa Conference League playoffs for the 24/25 season. In their 17 home games last season, Rotterdam Spartans recorded 6 wins, 5 draws, and 6 losses, showing relatively stable performance, but their point-grabbing efficiency was still not as good as their away form.

In terms of squad, Norwegian midfielder Joshua Kitolano of Rotterdam Spartans will be unable to play due to personal reasons, while veteran midfielder De Guzman will miss the match due to a minor collision injury. During this summer transfer window, Rotterdam Spartans were unable to renew the loan of Japanese attacker Kiyotake, but another Japanese winger, Toko Asuka, insisted on staying despite interest from multiple clubs. Additionally, attacking midfielder Bas from SBV Elite joined on a free transfer, giving the team’s attack line a good degree of stability.

Feyenoord finished the Eredivisie last season with 26 wins, 6 draws, and 2 losses, ranking second in the league as runners-up, but still had a gap of up to 7 points from the top-placed PSV Eindhoven, never posing much threat to the leader throughout the season. In the Dutch Super Cup at the start of this season, Feyenoord defeated Eredivisie champions PSV Eindhoven 4-2 on penalties as the Dutch Cup winners, successfully lifting the trophy. Danish manager Plessick won his own trophy upon taking office, a result worthy of recognition.

In the league match on August 18th, Feyenoord beat Zwolle 5-1 away from home, with right winger Stens contributing three goals alone, and Brazilian left winger Paixão also scoring and assisting, showing excellent offensive form. During the summer transfer window, Feyenoord sold their starting midfielder Mats Wieffer to Premier League side Brighton for a high price of 32 million euros, with Iranian forward Jahanbakhsh, Norwegian defender Peterson, and Peruvian winger Lopez all leaving the team in various forms. However, Plessick brought in Costa Rican defender Mitchell and Algerian forward Musa as young potential reinforcements, suggesting that Feyenoord is more likely to enter the era of the ‘black shop’ this season.

In terms of injuries and suspensions, Feyenoord’s starting left-back Hartmann will continue to be absent due to a cruciate ligament injury, expected to return to first-team training only early next year. Additionally, Austrian defender Trauner is absent due to a thigh injury, while the rest of the players are available to represent the club.

In the previous 20 encounters between the two teams, Feyenoord has an overwhelming advantage with 15 wins, 3 draws, and 2 losses. In this round of the league, Rotterdam Spartans will strive to maintain their unbeaten record at home by relying on their home advantage and counterattack capabilities. Will the fully loaded attack of Feyenoord encounter trouble on the road to victory?

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