Feyenoord host ADO Den Haag at De Kuip on Sunday with a chance to stay unbeaten after taking seven points from their first three Eredivisie matches. The first week of the season has already put them fourth, and it has done so with goals coming from all over the pitch.
Gjivai Zechiel has scored three times in those three league games, including twice in the 5-2 win over Cambuur, while Luciano Valente and Ayase Ueda have two goals each. That form has helped Feyenoord score eight times, but it has also come with a warning light: they have conceded four goals and already dropped points after leading 2-0 in the 2-2 draw with Go Ahead Eagles.
The league picture explains why this fixture matters now. Feyenoord finished second last season, 19 points behind PSV Eindhoven, and that was enough to send them directly into the UEFA Champions League league phase. ADO Den Haag came back to the Eredivisie after a five-year absence by winning the Eerste Divisie title with 89 points under Robin Peter, but they have opened this campaign with three defeats and no points.
The visitors have scored two goals and conceded nine, which is why they arrive bottom of the table and already needing a response. Yannick Eduardo gave them their first Eredivisie goal since promotion, but it has not stopped losses at AZ Alkmaar, at home to Groningen and away at Go Ahead Eagles. On paper, this is a top-four side meeting a promoted team still searching for its first foothold in the division.
Feyenoord are also working around absences. Giovanni van Bronckhorst is without Bart Nieuwkoop, Gijs Smal, Thomas Beelen, Jordan Bos and Jakub Moder, even as Tjark Ernst is set to continue in goal and Jeremiah St Juste, Tsuyoshi Watanabe, Mika Marmol and Givairo Read are lined up across the back. Zechiel, Charles Vanhoutte and Valente are expected to keep their places in midfield, with Ueda leading the line and Anis Hadj Moussa and Gaoussou Diarra providing width.
ADO Den Haag have their own changes to manage, with Robin Peter missing Cameron Peupion, Jonas Jensen-Abbew and Donat Barany. Kilian Nikiema is expected to stay in goal, behind Othniel Raterink, Milan Hokke, Pascal Mulder and Sekou Sylla. The record between the clubs adds another layer: Feyenoord have won 21 of the 37 league meetings since 2003, while ADO Den Haag have taken 10 and six have finished level.
Feyenoord have the edge in form, firepower and history, but Sunday is also a test of control. They have been sharp enough to stay unbeaten, yet loose enough to let games drift, and a side chasing Europe cannot keep relying on outscoring its mistakes.
