🏏 Sun, 16 Aug 2026 12:15 CEST
ADO Den Haag
vs
FC Groningen
4-4-2 vs 4-2-3-1
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- ADO Den Haag are still hunting their first point of the campaign. They opened away at AZ Alkmaar and lost 2-0, leaving them 14th with no goals scored and a goal difference of -2. AZ have since raced to the top of the table on six points from two games with a +5 difference, while Groningen arrive ninth on three points after edging Utrecht 2-1 at home on matchday one.
- The shape battle pits ADO's 4-4-2 against Groningen's 4-2-3-1. ADO push two forwards, Yanick Ferreira Eduardo and Jesse Baar, straight onto the visiting centre-backs, with Daryl van Mieghem and the 192cm Ilias de Ruiter stationed wide of a flat midfield four. Groningen screen the middle with Tygo Land and Tika de Jonge and stack three players ahead of them in P. Clement, Thom van Bergen and David van der Werff, so the hosts must solve a two-versus-three problem in central areas.
- ADO's strike pairing is an intriguing mix of two forwards aged 20 and 19. Ferreira Eduardo stands 193cm, was developed at RB Leipzig and Hoffenheim before Dutch spells at Emmen and Dordrecht, and offers a genuine aerial reference point. Baar, who wears the No. 9, came through Sparta Rotterdam's academy, spent the first half of 2025 on loan at Parma and joined ADO permanently that August, and he will want to end the club's goalless start.
- Groningen lead the line with Iceland international Brynjolfur Willumsson, a 26-year-old, 185cm right-footed centre-forward who arrived via Breidablik and Norwegian side Kristiansund. His physical hold-up play and finishing instinct are his calling cards, and his brother W. Willumsson plays in the same division at NEC. Waiting for him are ADO's Matteo Waem, a 189cm Belgian formerly of MVV, and 22-year-old Milan Hoek, a 190cm defender out of Feyenoord.
- Midfield control may hinge on P. Clement, Groningen's 24-year-old central midfielder. An Ajax academy graduate, he has banked league mileage at Reading, PEC Zwolle, RKC Waalwijk and Sparta Rotterdam, and he dictates tempo with clean, accurate distribution. ADO answer with Czech Jan Zamburek, 25, who played for Brentford and Shrewsbury Town before Heracles, alongside 24-year-old Finn Juho Kilo, who came from Haka.
- Experience against youth runs through this fixture. ADO can lean on 36-year-old Daryl van Mieghem, only 170cm but armed with a career built at FC Volendam, Heracles, Excelsior and Telstar. Groningen counter with one of the youngest back lines in the division: 18-year-old Swedish centre-back Elvis van der Laan, signed from AIK, 21-year-old Thijmen Blokzijl at 190cm with Dutch youth international caps, and 22-year-old academy left-back Wouter Prins.
- Set pieces should be a clear point of difference. Prins, a left-footed full-back who came through Groningen's academy, has a long throw that lands directly in the penalty area. ADO, though, are built for those moments: Ferreira Eduardo at 193cm, De Ruiter at 192cm, Hoek at 190cm and Waem at 189cm give the hosts height across the pitch, with Blokzijl among the few visitors able to match them in the air.
- There is a notable gap in goalkeeping mileage. Etienne Vaessen, 31 and 189cm, made 196 appearances across nine years at RKC Waalwijk, is rated for his reflexes and close-range saves, and holds dual Surinamese and Dutch nationality. Opposite him is 23-year-old Kilian Nikiema, a 188cm keeper born in Burkina Faso. With ADO having conceded twice without scoring on matchday one, shutting the door is the first step to any recovery.
- The benches reflect two different recruitment styles. ADO hold back Austrian forward Luka Reischl, 22 and formerly of Red Bull Salzburg, German defender Lasse Wilhelm, 23, who arrived from Mainz, and 27-year-old goalkeeper Niklas Thiede after stints at Bochum and Freiburg. Groningen's options include 20-year-old Travis Hernes, on loan from Newcastle United after making his professional debut at Shrewsbury and a Norway youth international, plus 18-year-old Swede Alvin Nordin.