On Sunday, Groningen and Heracles visit the Hitachi Capital Mobility Stadion for matchday 30 of the 2021-22 Eredivisie season with kickoff at 3:30 pm.
Two Sundays ago, Groningen played Heerenveen in their most recent fixture. Groningen were beaten by Heerenveen 3-1 at the Abe Lenstra Stadion.
Danny Buijs’s men went behind to a Sydney van Hooijdonk strike early on. Still, they drew level through Neraysho Kasanwirjo just shy of the half-hour mark before second-half goals from the Hooijdonk above and Sven van Beek decided the contest.
The Pride of the North remains eighth in the league table but now has a six-point deficit to make up in the race for the last Conference League playoff spot. Lying in store next is the challenge of an opposing outfit that has won the last three meetings between the teams, including a 4-2 triumph in December’s reverse fixture.
Heracles Almelo lost 4-1 to Feyenoord at home in November. The Heraclieden were two goals down after just 20 minutes, thanks to goals from Sinan Bakis and Orkun Kokcu.
Before Reiss, Nelson and Guus Til struck within five minutes of each other. Patrik Walemark scored the fourth goal before halftime as Heracles fell to a comprehensive defeat.
The Heraclieden are 13th in the league table, having previously won their first away game. They now go in search of consecutive away wins.
FC Groningen vs Heracles Head to Head
Both sides have 30 games against each other with hosts taking thirteen wins while visitors with fourteen wins. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- SC Heereenveen 3-1 FC Groningen
- FC Groningen 1-3 Ajax
- FC Utrecht 1-3 Groningen
- FC Groningen 4-3 NEC Nijmegen
- Feyernoord 1-1 FC Groningen
Away
- Heracles 1-4 Feyernoord
- Fortuna Sittard 0-2 Heracles
- Bochum 2-0 Heracles
- SC Heereenveen 2-0 Heracles
- Heracles 0-0 Vitesse
FC Groningen Team News
Heracles’ Ismail Azzaoui and Kaj Sierhuis are injured, meaning they will not play on Sunday. Janis Blaswich is still recovering from a muscle problem but has missed the last six matches.
Heracles Team News
Due to a shoulder injury, Jan Hoekstra’s season has been brought to an end. Nineteen-year-old Tomas Suslov remains unavailable, as he hasn’t featured for Groningen this term because of a thigh injury. Radinio Balker is a guaranteed absentee, as he’s yet to feature this term due to a cruciate ligament injury.
Prediction and Odds
Groningen struggles to score on home turf. Heracles have difficulty scoring away from home. We expect a low-scoring affair this weekend, and a slender victory for the hosts come the sound of the final whistle.
- Groningen Win
- Goals Under 2.5
- No Score: Away
