Sparta Rotterdam host Willem II at Het Kasteel on 17 October 2026, with both clubs scrapping near the bottom of the Eredivisie table and badly needing a win. Sparta sit 14th with six points from eight games, while Willem II are rock bottom in 18th with just two points and no wins - Rogier Meijer and John Stegeman meeting here for the first time as managers. Sparta arrive having drawn 3-3 at Go Ahead Eagles on 10 October before losing 0-4 to Heerenveen earlier that month, their last five league results reading D L L D L. Willem II's form is bleaker still: L L L D L across their previous five, with a 1-3 loss at Utrecht among them and 23 goals shipped in eight games.
Meijer, who took charge on 1 July 2026 replacing Maurice Steijn, has moved Sparta toward a back three system and is without Mitchel van Bergen (thigh) and Shunsuke Mito (injury). Stegeman faces a far worse picture: Thomas Didillon-Hodl is out with a hamstring complaint, A. Lachkar has a groin issue and J. Hoogma is sidelined with a knee problem. Losing two outfield defenders and a goalkeeper simultaneously is the sort of injury crisis that tends to define a result before kick off.
Meijer's 5-3-2 is built around set piece threat and quick transitions through the midfield trio. Bruno Martins Indi anchors the defence and frees the wing backs to get forward, while Milan Zonneveld, who has five goals in eight matches, targets the space behind opposition defensive lines. Isaac Babadi links play between the lines and Jens Toornstra provides the ball retention that keeps Sparta's shape on the ball. Stegeman's attacking options centre on Devin Haen and Vito van Crooij up front, with Tonny Vilhena behind them and Jaden Slory, who scored against Utrecht, drifting inside from the right. What hurts Willem II far more than their shape, though, is the loss of Didillon-Hodl, Lachkar and Hoogma, which forces a stand in back four against a side that knows exactly how to hurt you from dead balls.
Martins Indi and Zonneveld are both threats in the air and against a makeshift defensive line missing two of its regular centre backs and its first-choice goalkeeper, Sparta have exactly the kind of numerical advantage at corners and free kicks that Meijer has been building toward. Martins Indi and Zonneveld both winning headers against a depleted Willem II backline makes set pieces Sparta's sharpest weapon here. The head to head record reinforces that: Sparta won 5-1 away at Willem II in December 2025 and 4-0 at home in March 2025, those scorelines shaped in no small part by dead-ball moments. What happens when Sparta are organised and Willem II are not is already on the record.
Sparta win this 2-1. The two sides have conceded a combined 35 goals in 16 games this season, so a goal for Willem II through Haen or van Crooij is far from impossible but the injury differential and the head to head record point one way.
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?.
