Relegation battle heats up in the Netherlands

Things may be exciting at the top of the Dutch Eredivisie, the bottom is worth watching as well, with only one match round to go and five teams fighting against relegation.

In the Netherlands, only the last-placed team is directly relegated, while numbers 16 and 17 face Eerste Divisie teams in promotion/relegation play-offs.

As things look now, VVV Venlo would be the team to disappear without play-offs, having earned 26 points from 33 games. Excelsior Rotterdam are just ahead with one point more.

De Graafschap are in 16th place with 30 points and are certain of not being relegated directly, but will want to avoid play-offs. To do so, they need to surpass either Willem II Tilburg (31 points) or Heracles Almelo (14 points).

Looking at the fixtures, it seems like De Graafschap’s chances are actually quite good since they face VVV, while Willem II and VVV play away to FC Twente and Ajax respectively.

Relegation battle fixtures:

VVV Venlo – De Graafschap Doetinchem
SC Heerenveen – Excelsior Rotterdam
FC Twente Enschede – Willem II Tilburg
Ajax Amsterdam – Heracles Almelo