The 2026/27 Eredivisie opens with FC Groningen hosting FC Utrecht at Euroborg on Sunday 9 August with kick off at 13:30 local time. Groningen finished ninth last season and Utrecht sixth and with no European commitments or relegation anxiety on either side, both come into this needing to win.
Dick Lukkien has been at Groningen since July 2023, contracted until 2028 and his teams follow a recognisable pattern: compact 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 shapes, a press, set piece routines and a willingness to blood younger players. Anthony Correia is newer to this level, having taken charge of Utrecht on 1 July 2026 following Ron Jans' departure. He built his reputation at Telstar around 3-4-2-1 and 3-4-3 setups, though with five named starters absent on matchday one, how fluently that system will operate from the first whistle is a real open question and there is no head to head record between these two coaches to offer any clues since Correia only arrived this summer.
Neither side has competitive 2026/27 minutes yet, which makes this harder to read than most opening day fixtures. Groningen closed last season steadily, posting a strong home record across the second half of the campaign, while Utrecht's season ended under Jans before Correia began reshaping the squad in pre season.
Groningen name a near full squad, with midfielder Stije Resink the one confirmed absentee through a knee injury. Their likely 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 starts with Etienne Vaessen in goal and a back line including Wouter Prins, Marco Rente and Thijmen Blokzijl. Tika de Jonge, David van der Werff, Jorg Schreuders and Pelle Clement compete for midfield spots behind forwards Thom van Bergen, Groningen's top scorer last season and Ryan Metu.
Utrecht are in considerably worse shape. Noah Ohio is out until January 2027 with a cruciate injury and Miliano Jonathans, Victor Jensen, Jaygo van Ommeren and Alonzo Engwanda are also missing, stripping out a large chunk of their attacking and midfield options. Correia is likely to set up in a 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1 with Vasilios Barkas in goal, N. Vesterlund and M. Eerdhuijzen among the defenders, S. Horemans, A. Blake, Y. Cathline and D. De Wit in midfield and A. Alarcon and A. Stepanov leading the attack. The squad disruption creates a specific problem on matchday one: there has simply been no time to build the kind of chemistry a Correia system demands and he is asking players he has known for a matter of weeks to execute a system they have had just six weeks to learn.
Lukkien's Groningen are built around midfield control and a compact defensive structure. Van Bergen's ability to carry the ball from deep and arrive in shooting positions made him Groningen's most dangerous outlet last season, Younes Taha provides creativity in the pockets and Rente and Blokzijl are reliable aerially and cover the channels efficiently. Correia wants his wing backs to push high and supply the width that allows Utrecht's attacking midfielders to narrow and combine centrally but with five starters absent and a system his players have had only six weeks to absorb, how cleanly that structure holds up under pressure is the central question of this match. What is already clear is that if Utrecht's wing backs commit forward and Groningen win possession centrally, the space in behind is where Lukkien's side will look to punish them.
Utrecht have the better of this fixture historically, with around 20 wins compared to Groningen's eight across tracked meetings. Recent results have been more balanced, though Utrecht carry a lengthy unbeaten run at Euroborg into this visit, which matters considerably given the scale of change in both squads.
Groningen's threat from set pieces is particularly relevant here because Utrecht's back three has barely trained together and will be defending corners against a side that made dead balls a reliable source of goals last season. Mild weather is forecast with no scheduling complications. Betting markets have Groningen as slight home underdogs despite Utrecht missing five named starters and with Utrecht's defensive line barely assembled and Groningen pushing men forward at every set piece, there are fairly concrete reasons to expect goals from both sides.
Utrecht winning here with all those absences is not an easy call but their record at Euroborg is not a coincidence. Correia's system is built around winning the ball centrally and releasing forwards in behind, which is precisely the kind of approach that can hurt a Groningen side committing men forward at set pieces. Groningen will be compact and dangerous from dead balls but Utrecht's transition pace versus a defence that pushes up at set pieces should be enough to take the three points. Predicted score: 1-2.
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?.
