Eredivisie

Highlighted: The Twentse Derby

25 October 2024

Sunday brings the Twente Derby: FC Twente vs. Heracles Almelo. FC Twente has remained unbeaten in the last six encounters (2 wins, 4 draws). Heracles Almelo’s last derby victory dates back to September 2019, when they won 2-3 at De Grolsch Veste, with Mauro Júnior scoring twice and Cyriel Dessers adding another goal.

Heracles Almelo had a disappointing lead-up to the derby. At home in the Asito Stadium, Erwin van de Looi’s side took the lead twice against Ajax but ultimately lost 3-4 to the Amsterdam team. The week prior, they also suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat to Go Ahead Eagles, despite initially leading.

Heracles has only let points slip after taking the lead in three consecutive Eredivisie matches twice before—in 1964 and 2012. Now, they could become the first team to lead in three straight Eredivisie games and still lose since N.E.C. Nijmegen in November–December 2021. Heracles has already lost 11 points from winning positions this season, at least four more than any other team, equaling their total for the entire previous season. FC Twente, in a shared second place in this list, shows that even their fans can’t sit back when their team takes the lead. Meanwhile, Twente is also in a rough patch after losing to Feyenoord (2-1), drawing with RKC Waalwijk (2-2), and their European loss to Lazio Roma last Thursday (0-2).

Eredivisie 2024/25

Team	Points lost after taking the lead
Heracles Almelo	11
FC Twente	7
Sparta Rotterdam	7
RKC Waalwijk	5
Feyenoord / PEC Zwolle / Almere City FC	4

Sem Steijn vs Luka Kulenovic

Both teams have a player in top form. In fact, no one in the last four Eredivisie rounds has scored as frequently as FC Twente's Sem Steijn and Heracles’ Luka Kulenovic, each netting four goals. Kulenovic also witnessed his teammate Mario Engels score three times. Steijn has been in top shape all season, leading the league with eight goals in nine matches. The only midfielders this century with more goals in their first ten Eredivisie games of a season are Danijel Pranjic (10 in 2008/09) and Rafael van der Vaart (9 in both 2001/02 and 2002/03).

Luka Kulenovic has scored three times with his last four shots in the Eredivisie, including both attempts against Ajax. The Croatian has four goals from five starts this season and could become only the second player to score five times in his first six Eredivisie starts for Heracles, following Herman Morsink in 1963 (5 goals).