Eredivisie Preview: Difficult run continues for struggling Dordrecht

Dordrecht’s tough run of Eredivisie fixtures continues on Saturday as they face another high-flying side in the form of Feyenoord.

Ernie Brandts’ rock-bottom side have endured a difficult season so far in the Dutch top flight, with a tough run of games exacerbating things of late in a seven-match losing streak.

Dordrecht, promoted last season, have been beaten 4-0 by champions Ajax and third-placed Twente in their last two games, with this weekend’s hosts Feyenoord representing another tough challenge as they sit fourth.

Without a goal in a month, a trip to face the league’s best defence is not ideal, but if Dordrecht sneak a surprise win they could move off the bottom and above Heracles, who face ADO Den Haag.

Despite the rude awakening to life in the Eredivisie, Brandt received backing from the club’s technical director Marco Boogers recently.

“He is getting the most out of the team. Ernie is doing just fine,” Boogers told Dutch television show FC Rijnmond.

“The fault lies not with the coach. We have a budget for the middle of the Eerste Divisie and we must continue to do our best and give maximum effort.”

The sides have not met in a top-flight encounter since Feyenoord won by the odd goal in nine back in 1995, with Fred Rutten’s men also eager to get back to winning ways after a disappointing goalless draw with Vitesse prior to the international break.

Feyenoord – bolstered in recent days by new deals for Rick Karsdorp and Miquel Nelom – slipped to fourth as a result, with PSV, Ajax and Twente all picking up wins.

PSV, who sit top, go in search of a sixth consecutive Eredivisie win at Euroborg against an out-of-sorts Groningen, while Ajax will hope Lasse Schone and Arkadiusz Milik can continue the form they showed before the international break.

Schone and Milik have plundered six goals in Ajax’s last three matches, with Heerenveen having not kept a clean sheet in the league since September.

Twente make the trip to fifth-placed PEC Zwolle, while fellow European hopefuls AZ and Cambuur face Vitesse and Utrecht respectively.

Back at the bottom, NAC Breda in 16th face a Go Ahead Eagles outfit who are one place above them, while Excelsior can leapfrog Willem II with a win in Tilburg.