Heracles Almelo vs. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/AFC-Ajax-c38228 Amsterdam: Ramos da Silva and Sigthorsson to shine – Eredivisie preview
Heracles Almelo and Ajax Amsterdam lock horns at Polman Stadion on Saturday, September 10, in what promises to be an interesting affair. The defending champions take on European hopefuls away from home and it’s anyone’s game at the moment.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Heracles-Almelo-c39520
The Heraclieden come into this match on the back of a 2-1 loss at the hands of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/NEC-c40018 Nijmegen at McDOS Goffertstadion. The outfit from Almelo staged an impressive show while playing away from their home turf but failed to secure any point.
After finishing eighth in the league table last term, Heracles have not made a good start to the 2011/12 season. They played 4 games in the league so far, won and drawn one apiece while two ended in stalemates. These less than impressive statistics see them
occupy a lowly 10th spot on the table.
Peter Bosz, the Heraclieden manager, believes that the upcoming encounter will be a tough fixture and revealed that his side will look to play aggressively to secure a point at the least.
“Apart from the match against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/VVV-Venlo-c40915, Ajax have not dropped a single point this season. Ajax look to close down their opponent with their aggressive game, but we will try to take the initiative and play attacking football and do everything to take something
out of it. I expect a nice game”, Bosz said while talking to the media.
Ajax Amsterdam
The reigning Eredivisie champions thrashed http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Vitesse-c40905 Arnhem 4-1 two weeks ago and would be looking to continue their impressive outings by securing another easy win in the upcoming encounter.
The Amsterdammers managed to lure http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/RSC-Anderlecht-c40394 on the final day of the recently concluded summer transfer window. Arrival of the veteran striker has further enhanced the Amsterdam giants’ attack, brightening up changes
of success in Dutch top tier and Europe.
Frank de Boer, the Amsterdam giants head coach, is expected to give the veteran striker some playing time in this away match. The Dutch trainer is impressed with the arrival of the Russian ace and revealed that his arrival has increased selection options
upfront.
“He has made a good impression on me. I am glad that he joined Ajax. We have now a very nice selection. We had to, because we have a heavy program ahead”, De Boer was quoted as saying to the media.
Head-to-Head statistics
The Heraclieden have failed to register a single win in their last five head-to-head encounters against the Amsterdam giants. The Amsterdammers secured easy wins in four of the fixtures while the remaining match ended in a stalemate.
Players to watch
Everton Ramos da Silva – Heracles Almelo
In recent seasons, the 28-year-old has remained one of the key players for the Heraclieden. Although the striker has not managed to hit the target even once in his last five encounters against the reigning Dutch champions, he will certainly play an important
role should his side manages to secure any points.
Kolbeinn Sigthorsson – Ajax Amsterdam
The Icelandic ace grabbed a brace against Vitesse Arnhem two weeks ago, taking his goalscoring tally to four. His movement and dribbling skills will be too much for the Heraclieden defenders and could possibly get another two goals or more in this game.
Prediction
The home side have struggled to achieve superior results against the Amsterdammers in recent times and nothing is expected to change on Saturday. It will be an easy 4-1 win in favour of the Amsterdam giants.
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