The regular season in the Dutch Eredivisie has ended with Ajax as champions. However, there is still plenty to play for in the Europa League playoffs. The teams from fourth to seventh in the league compete for one place in the Europa League.
On Tuesday night, Utrecht host Heracles in the second leg of their playoff to see who will make it through to the final.
Utrecht finished the league campaign in sixth place on 53 points. That’s one place and 5 points ahead of their opponents. They won the first leg of this tie 2-0 away from home and that leaves them in a strong position ahead of this match.
Trends show Utrecht have won three of their last four games, with the only defeat coming at Ajax. Their home form is impressive and they are undefeated in their last seven league matches at the Stadion Galgenwaard. Utrecht have won three of those seven games, including each of their last two.
However, draws have been the most common result recently and Utrecht have drawn four of their last seven on home soil. Three of their last six home matches have ended in 0-0 draws but three of their last four have seen over 2.5 goals, making them tough to predict.
Heracles suffered a disappointing end to the Eredivisie season. They have lost each of their last four games and have won only two of their last eight, both of which were at home. If it wasn’t for a run of three straight defeats at the end of the regular league season, they could have finished higher up the table.
Away form shows three straight losses, with the latest coming in the first leg of this Europa League playoff. Heracles have seen over 2.5 goals in each of their last four away matches and both teams have scored in each of their last five on the road.
Team news and Utrecht will be without Simon Makienok who has a knee injury. He is their only problem so the hosts should be close to full strength.
Heracles have a few injury problems and will be without Sebastian Jakubiak, Robin Propper and Kristoffer Peterson. There are also doubts over the fitness of Niels Leemhuis, Zeki Erkilinc and Maximilian Rossmann.
Give the result in the first leg and the form of both teams, there appears to be only one winner in this game. Utrecht know Heracles will have to attack and that should play into their hands. We could see a home win, with both teams scoring.