Eredivisie

Highligted: Heracles Almelo can build on a strong run

7 February 2025

It isn't visible in the standings yet, but in recent weeks, Heracles Almelo has been on a great run. The Heraclieden reached the semi-finals of the TOTO KNVB Cup on Tuesday (2-0 win over FC Utrecht), and in the Eredivisie, they haven't lost a single match since December 14. This upcoming weekend, Heracles will face the also in-form Go Ahead Eagles. Who will continue their good run?

Heracles: 8 matches unbeaten in a row

Heracles Almelo can look back on a great run. With three wins in the TOTO KNVB Cup and five Eredivisie matches unbeaten (one win, four draws), the Heraclieden have gone eight games unbeaten. In the club's history, the Almelo side has only had longer unbeaten runs in 1964 (eleven matches) and 2012 (nine matches). Will this season bring a change to that?

The return to real grass at the Asito Stadion seems to be benefiting the club. This season, Heracles has lost only two of the thirteen home games, against top clubs PSV and Ajax.

However, it has proven difficult for Heracles Almelo to turn their home matches into wins. The last five Eredivisie matches in Almelo all ended in a draw. To find a longer streak of home draws, you'd have to go back to 1996, when FC Utrecht shared points seven times in a row. Since then, only six clubs have managed to draw five consecutive home games, just like Heracles now.

Go Ahead: 6 Eredivisie matches unbeaten in a row

A win for Heracles Almelo will be a challenge again this coming weekend for coach Erwin van de Looi. On Saturday, Heracles will face Go Ahead Eagles, a fellow semi-finalist in the TOTO KNVB Cup and the only team currently on a longer unbeaten streak in the Eredivisie. The Deventenaren are unbeaten in their last six Eredivisie matches (four wins, two draws).

In addition, Go Ahead Eagles can reach a milestone: for the second time in 40 years, they could remain unbeaten in seven consecutive Eredivisie matches. However, to break the record, the Eagles will need to maintain their good form. From September 2022 to January 2023, Go Ahead Eagles went an impressive eleven Eredivisie matches without defeat.

Oliver Antman (Go Ahead Eagles)

Luka Kulenović

One of the revelations of the season at Heracles Almelo is Luka Kulenović. The 25-year-old striker has scored 7 of the club's 24 goals. This is all the more impressive considering that due to injury, he has only played half the time (969 minutes out of a maximum of 1890 minutes).

Thanks to his performances, Luka Kulenović finds himself in an impressive company: only three Eredivisie players have needed fewer minutes per goal than the newly minted international from Bosnia and Herzegovina this season. With one goal every 139 minutes, he is certainly on the radar of many (inter)national scouts.

Players (800+ minutes)	Played minutes	Goals	Goals per min
1) Sem Steijn	1,556	17	92
2) Oliver Edvardsen	891	8	112
3) Luuk de Jong	1,301	10	131
4) Luka Kulenović	969	7	139
5) Troy Parrott	1,604	11	146

Luka Kulenović (Heracles Almelo)

Relegation worries or a way up?

Despite Heracles Almelo's recent unbeaten run, supporters are not entirely at ease with the current standings. With 21 points, the Almelo side is just one point above a resurgent and significantly strengthened Sparta Rotterdam. The good news, however, is that a win could quickly push them up the table. Teams ranked eighth to sixteenth are all within six points of each other. Of all these teams, Heracles has the fewest losses. The main objective for coach Erwin van de Looi is to increase the number of wins. Will they start with a victory this coming Saturday? At 16:30, Heracles Almelo will face Go Ahead Eagles at the Asito Stadion.

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	21	16 \| 3 \| 2	68-23	+45	50
2	Ajax	20	15 \| 2 \| 3	43-18	+25	48
3	FC Utrecht	21	12 \| 3 \| 6	40-33	+7	42
4	AZ	21	11 \| 6 \| 4	36-21	+15	37
5	Feyenoord	20	10 \| 4 \| 6	43-26	+17	36
6	FC Twente	20	10 \| 5 \| 5	41-27	+14	35
7	Go Ahead Eagles	20	9 \| 6 \| 5	37-30	+7	32
8	Fortuna Sittard	21	7 \| 9 \| 5	29-38	-9	26
9	NAC Breda	21	8 \| 11 \| 2	26-36	-10	26

#	Club	GS	W \| V \| G	DV-DT	DS	P
10	sc Heerenveen	21	7 \| 10 \| 4	23-38	-15	25
11	N.E.C. Nijmegen	20	7 \| 10 \| 3	31-28	+3	24
12	PEC Zwolle	21	6 \| 9 \| 6	26-32	-6	24
13	Willem II	21	6 \| 10 \| 5	24-30	-6	23
14	Heracles Almelo	21	4 \| 8 \| 9	24-37	-13	21
15	FC Groningen	21	5 \| 10 \| 6	17-30	-13	21
16	Sparta Rotterdam	21	4 \| 9 \| 8	19-29	-10	20
17	RKC Waalwijk	21	3 \| 13 \| 5	26-45	-19	14
18	Almere City FC	20	2 \| 14 \| 4	11-43	-32	10