Eredivisie

Highlighted: Will FC Utrecht find their way up against Feyenoord?

1 September 2023

During the final week of the transfer window, FC Utrecht's focus wasn't on incoming or outgoing players. Instead, it revolved around the coaching position, as head coach Michael Silberbauer was dismissed by the club after a poor start to the season. What is Utrecht's current situation?

Searching season start

The season start in Utrecht can easily be labeled as chaotic. With defeats against PSV (2-0), sc Heerenveen (0-2), and PEC Zwolle (1-0), the Domstedelingen began the Eredivisie season without any points and even without scoring a goal. Coach Michael Silberbauer was evidently in search mode: he utilized a total of 22 different players in these matches, the joint highest number among all clubs this season, alongside Almere City.

Match between PSV - FC Utrecht, FC Utrecht players disappointed after the PSV - Utrecht match. (12-08-2023)

Firing coach, the right choice?

After Silberbauer's dismissal, Rob Penders temporarily takes charge at FC Utrecht, hoping for a shock effect. However, in recent years, it hasn't been shown that a coaching change benefits the Domstedelingen. Out of the last twelve Eredivisie matches following a coaching change, only one was won (D5, L6). What Utrecht can hold onto: the latest match in this sequence was against Feyenoord, which ended in a tidy 1-1 draw.

Date	Opponent	Score	Outcome	Debuting Coach
06/08/2011	VVV-Venlo	0-0	G	Erwin Koeman
22/10/2011	sc Heerenveen	1-4	V	Jan Wouters
08/08/2014	PEC Zwolle	0-2	V	Rob Alflen
08/08/2015	Feyenoord	2-3	V	Erik ten Hag
19/01/2018	AZ	1-1	G	Jean-Paul de Jong
16/09/2018	FC Emmen	1-2	V	Marinus Dijkhuizen
23/09/2018	Feyenoord	0-1	V	Dick Advocaat
04/08/2019	ADO Den Haag	4-2	W	John van den Brom
08/11/2020	Ajax	0-3	V	René Hake
02/04/2022	RKC Waalwijk	1-1	G	Rick Kruys
06/08/2022	RKC Waalwijk	2-2	G	Henk Fraser
08/01/2023	Feyenoord	1-1	G	Michael Silberbauer

Match between PSV and FC Utrecht, coach Michael Silberbauer of Utrecht. (12-08-2023)

Toornstra Against Former Love

On Sunday, Utrecht plays for their first points of this Eredivisie season. There's a good chance that Feyenoord icon Jens Toornstra will be in action. He played 234 Eredivisie matches for Feyenoord and secured the league title, two KNVB Cups, and the Johan Cruijff Shield twice with them. Interestingly, he's also well acquainted with scoring against Feyenoord: he's done so three times for FC Utrecht, including in last season's meeting at the Galgenwaard. Only five players have scored more often for Utrecht against Feyenoord in the Eredivisie.

Match between FC Utrecht and SC Heerenveen. Utrecht player Jens Toornstra. (20-08-2023)

Eredivisie table

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Ajax

Almere City FC

FC Groningen

FC Twente

FC Utrecht

Feyenoord

Fortuna Sittard

Go Ahead Eagles

Heracles Almelo

N.E.C. Nijmegen

NAC Breda

PEC Zwolle

PSV

RKC Waalwijk

sc Heerenveen

Sparta Rotterdam

Willem II

#	Club	GS	W \| V \| G	DV-DT	DS	P
1	PSV	14	13 \| 1 \| 0	50-11	+39	39
2	Ajax	13	10 \| 1 \| 2	29-12	+17	32
3	FC Utrecht	13	10 \| 2 \| 1	24-17	+7	31
4	Feyenoord	14	8 \| 1 \| 5	32-14	+18	29
5	FC Twente	14	8 \| 2 \| 4	29-14	+15	28
6	AZ	14	7 \| 5 \| 2	26-15	+11	23
7	NAC Breda	14	6 \| 7 \| 1	15-23	-8	19
8	Go Ahead Eagles	14	5 \| 6 \| 3	20-23	-3	18
9	Fortuna Sittard	14	5 \| 6 \| 3	15-19	-4	18

#	Club	GS	W \| V \| G	DV-DT	DS	P
10	N.E.C. Nijmegen	14	5 \| 8 \| 1	21-14	+7	16
11	Willem II	14	4 \| 6 \| 4	15-16	-1	16
12	PEC Zwolle	14	4 \| 7 \| 3	15-24	-9	15
13	FC Groningen	14	4 \| 7 \| 3	14-24	-10	15
14	sc Heerenveen	14	4 \| 7 \| 3	14-27	-13	15
15	Heracles Almelo	14	3 \| 7 \| 4	14-26	-12	13
16	Sparta Rotterdam	14	2 \| 7 \| 5	13-21	-8	11
17	RKC Waalwijk	14	1 \| 10 \| 3	13-34	-21	6
18	Almere City FC	14	1 \| 10 \| 3	6-31	-25	6