SC Heerenveen host SBV Excelsior at the Abe Lenstra Stadion on 16 October 2026, a Gameweek 9 fixture with both sides bunched together in the table. Heerenveen sit tenth with nine points from eight matches while Excelsior are a place above them on eleven and neither team has been consistent enough to push higher. Heerenveen have won both recent head to head meetings and are playing at home, which is a reasonable enough case on its own.
Robin Veldman and Ruben den Uil have no previous competitive history to draw on, since Veldman only took charge in March 2025, replacing Robin van Persie after an interim spell from Henk Brugge, while Den Uil has been at Excelsior since July 2024 having succeeded Marinus Dijkhuizen, making this their first competitive meeting.
Heerenveen arrive on the back of a mixed run, having gone L W D L D in their last five Eredivisie games. The 4-0 win over Sparta Rotterdam in September looked promising but they followed it with a 0-2 defeat at PSV and have not managed consecutive wins all season. Excelsior are similarly erratic across the same window, sitting at L D L D W, with the 1-5 home defeat to Groningen on 11 October the obvious concern (that kind of result lingers).
Heerenveen are without midfielder Dirk Proper, who is out with a hamstring injury and losing him from the middle forces changes to how they build from deep. Excelsior have doubts over Noah Naujoks, whose injury leaves him uncertain for this one, if he misses out they lose someone who helps them press high.
Heerenveen typically play a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, with Jacob Trenskow (three league goals already), Dylan Vente as the striker and midfielders Maxence Rivera and Levi Smans as their main attacking outlets. Veldman will probably ask Rivera or Smans to sit deeper with Proper unavailable, which takes something away from their ability to get forward. Excelsior prefer to hit on the counter from a 4-3-3, pushing a high line when they can get away with it and Irakli Yegoian runs their midfield alongside David Garden, Aymen Sliti and Agust Thorsteinsson out wide. If Naujoks is missing, their ability to press high and win the ball back early will take a hit, which could hand Heerenveen more time to play.
The game probably turns on whether Heerenveen can get in behind Excelsior's high line before the visitors counter through Yegoian and Garden. Trenskow against Excelsior's full backs is worth watching, as is Vente's hold up play against their centre backs, while Sliti and Thorsteinsson will be looking to catch Heerenveen on the transition whenever possession turns over.
Heerenveen have won both recent meetings 2-1, at home in October 2025 and away in March 2026 and their set piece threat adds another dimension in a game that may not produce much open play quality. Excelsior will need to be tight at corners and free kicks while looking to make something on the counter.
1-1. Heerenveen have the home advantage and the better recent head to head record but losing Proper disrupts their midfield and limits how much they can control the game. Excelsior still carry a counter attacking threat through Sliti and Thorsteinsson even without Naujoks and have shown they can score away. Both teams have been leaking goals recently, which suggests there will be at least one chance each that gets taken.
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?.
