Matchday two of the 2026 27 Eredivisie brings a genuinely interesting early season test as newly promoted ADO Den Haag host FC Groningen at the WerkTalent Stadion. The opening weekend results could hardly have been more different: ADO were beaten 2 0 at AZ Alkmaar while Groningen came away from Utrecht with a 2 1 win. ADO will want to lean on their home support, which drove them through last season's promotion run, while Groningen will be looking to back up that away result here.
Robin Peter took charge of ADO in July 2025 and delivered promotion from the Eerste Divisie, while Dick Lukkien has been at Groningen since 2023 and has built a settled squad around younger players, with neither manager having faced the other at senior level before this.
ADO's promotion campaign produced some strong home displays at the WerkTalent Stadion, where they kept clean sheets regularly and created enough to win games, though the 2 0 defeat at AZ last weekend will sting and they'll want a response in front of their own fans. Groningen came through a tough test at Utrecht convincingly enough with Van Bergen and Willumsson causing problems in behind.
ADO are missing Donat Barany and Cameron Peupion through knee injuries and will likely line up in a 4 2 3 1 with Nikiema in goal behind a back four of Hokke, Mulder, Waem and Sylla, Van Mieghem and De Bruin holding in midfield and Kilo, De Ruijter, Rottier and Eduardo as the attacking unit. Groningen have a longer injury list with Marco Rente, Stije Resink, Malcolm Jeng and Oskar Zawada all sidelined and their expected 4 2 3 1 puts Vaessen in goal, Schreuders, Blokzijl, Van der Laan and Prins across the back, De Jonge and Land in central midfield and Van der Werff, Van Bergen, Clement and Willumsson in the forward positions.
Peter's ADO sit deep in two banks of four before releasing Kilo and Rottier quickly into space, pressing higher at home to force mistakes high up the pitch. Lukkien's Groningen are more possession based, with a strong emphasis on set pieces and the ability to hurt teams on the counter through Van Bergen and Willumsson. The pressing duels between Van Mieghem and De Bruin for ADO and De Jonge and Land for Groningen will likely shape who gets to set the tempo, while whether Schreuders and Prins can track Kilo and Rottier's runs will matter just as much.
Groningen have the better of this historically with around 25 wins against ADO's 12 across all competitions. These games tend to produce goals, averaging close to three per match and while Eredivisie meetings before the 2021 22 season were split fairly evenly, Groningen travelling to Den Haag has generally produced tight, closely contested games rather than comfortable away wins.
Groningen put real work into their set piece delivery and organisation and ADO's defensive injury absences could be exposed from dead balls. ADO will look to use set pieces themselves to relieve pressure and launch quick attacks.
Groningen to win 2 1. ADO's press could disrupt Groningen's build up early but Groningen's defensive solidity and the pace of Willumsson and Van Bergen in behind should be enough and with ADO missing cover at the back, Groningen's set piece delivery could be decisive.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
