After thrashing Manchester City 3-1 in a UEFA Champions League game, Frank de Boer’s men would be confident to win the first Klassieker of the 2012/13 campaign.
In the 10th round of the Dutch top tier football, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Feyenoord-c39258 Rotterdam will lock horns against their archrivals, Ajax Amsterdam, at De Kuip Stadion on Sunday, October 28. Both sides would be keen to win the first Klassieker of the 2012/13 campaign.
Feyenoord Rotterdam
The Rotterdammers are heading into the match on the back of a hard fought 2-3 victory in their last Eredivisie encounter against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/VVV-Venlo-c40915 at De Koel Stadion on October 21.
Oguzhan Turk and Guus Joppen netted a goal each in the opening 21 minutes of the game to give VVV a deserving lead. However, A Lex Immers strike at the stroke of half-time coupled with second-half goals from http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Wesley-Verhoek-c36800 and Graziano Pelle secured a deserving
victory in favour of the Rotterdam giants.
The Stadiumclub have yet to suffer a defeat in front of their home crowd, winning two of their three games at home. However, their erratic performances on the road, dropping points in three of their six encounters, have dropped them to the fifth spot on
the league table. They have an overall record of 9 played, 5 won, 2 drawn and 2 lost.
Ronald Koeman, the Rotterdammers head coach, has stressed that it will be a stern test for his side against Ajax, as they are in impressive form, and has urged his troops to put in their best performance if they are to bag all three points.
“Ajax are currently playing tremendous football. But they remain vulnerable at the back. They have a young but a talented squad. However, if we can manage to play coolly throughout the 90 minutes, and exploit every opportunity, we can certainly win the game
then”, Koeman was quoted as saying to Voetbal International.
Ajax Amsterdam
After cruising to a convincing 3-1 victory over Manchester City in a UEFA Champions League encounter at Amsterdam Arena on October 24, the Amsterdammers would be brimming with confidence about bagging all three points on Sunday.
De Joden have made a slow start to their 2012/13 campaign. Occupying the fourth spot on the Eredivisie table, they have thus far failed to stage impressive shows consistently. Although, they have yet to suffer a defeat this term, their five draws were enough
to leave them five points behind the table-toppers, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/FC-Twente-c39233 Enschede.
The Amsterdammers boss, Frank de Boer, was completely satisfied with his side’s mid-week performance against the English champions, and would be keen to see his troops staging another brilliant show in order to secure a victory in the first Klassieker.
Head-to-Head statistics
The Amsterdam giants managed to claim all three points in three of their last five meetings against Feyenoord. The Rotterdammers managed to stun De Joden on one occasion, while the remaining encounter ended in a draw.
Players to watch
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lex-Immers-c22181 – Feyenoord Rotterdam
The midfield ace has been in sublime goalscoring form this term. Netting an impressive six goals while setting up another in nine league matches, the 26-year-old has remained one of the main assets for the Rotterdam-based club.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Siem-de-Jong-c33482 – Ajax Amsterdam
The midfielder-c*m-striker netted the equaliser in his side’s 3-1 win over Manchester City during the mid-week Champions League action. It will be hard for the Rotterdammers’ back-line to restrict the talented midfielder from hitting the back of the net.
Prediction
Ajax’s recent form clearly puts them the favourites to emerge victorious in the first Klassieker of the 2012/13 season, though, it will not be an easy task for the reining Eredivisie champions.
Predicted score-line: Feyenoord 1-2 Ajax.
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