Feyenoord vs Utrecht – News and Probable Lineups

Feyenoord returns to Eredivisie play just a week after a resounding 7-0 victory against PEC Zwolle, as they prepare to face FC Utrecht at De Kuip on Sunday, looking for their first home triumph of the season.

The Pride of the South could potentially finish this round at the top of the table, granted they secure a win and other matches unfold in their favor. They will meet a defensively fragile opponent against whom they have claimed victory in eight of their last ten confrontations.

Match overview

After a disappointing start in their Champions League campaign with a heavy loss to Barcelona, questions arose about Feyenoord’s resilience. However, Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s squad answered any doubts with a commanding performance.

Despite taking nearly 20 minutes to break the deadlock, the Stadium Club dominated after Nacho Ferri scored the first of his three goals in what ended up being a 7-0 rout of PEC Zwolle.

This win helped reboot De Stadionclub after their initial setback of the season in Catalonia, which marked their first defeat in 19 matches across all competitions. They are set to return to De Kuip on Sunday in search of their first league win of the campaign.

The last few outings in Rotterdam saw a 2-2 draw with Go Ahead Eagles and ADO Den Haag, while they closed out the 2025-26 season with draws in two of their final three games, a trend they are eager to shift this weekend.

Should Van Bronckhorst’s squad manage to secure a victory at home in De Kuip since he returned as head coach, they would momentarily ascend to the top of the table before AZ Alkmaar’s fixture against Telstar and PSV Eindhoven’s clash with FC Twente.

Even though the Pride of the South has had two draws at home this season and an overall record of four draws in their last five home games stretching back to last season, there is significant cause for optimism given their historical supremacy over Utrecht.

While the visiting Cathedral Citizens pulled off a surprising 2-1 victory over Feyenoord in January last year, that defeat ended De Stadionclub’s winning streak of five matches in this fixture and interrupted a seven-game unbeaten run.

That win for Utrecht was their first in Rotterdam in 11 years, following a 2-1 triumph in August 2014, highlighting its rarity, and achieving a second win in less than two years would indeed be remarkable.

Anthony Correia will undoubtedly be striving for a positive outcome at De Kuip this weekend, especially after securing their first win of the season against SBV Excelsior last weekend.

Dani De Wit scored a dramatic last-minute winner for a 2-1 victory, marking the former Telstar manager’s first success since taking over for Ron Jans during the summer, and he now aims for back-to-back wins to truly launch his tenure with the 14th-placed visitors.

This task will be tough, given their historical disadvantages in this matchup, especially against a Feyenoord side fresh off a 7-0 triumph over PEC.

Team News

Feyenoord will be without several players for Sunday’s encounter: Bart Nieuwkoop, Gijs Smal (ankle), Jakub Moder (knee), Thomas Beelen (broken leg) and Jordânia Bos (knee) are all sidelined.

Although Ayase Ueda has left the club, Ferri netted a hat-trick in the 7-0 demolition of PEC last time around, while Anis Hadj Moussa also contributed two goals in that impressive win.

In the midfield, Gjivai Zechiel brings a dual threat to the table, having tallied five league goals and provided three assists over six appearances, boosting the home side’s attacking capabilities.

Similarly, Utrecht has a number of absences, including Noah Ohio (knee), Alonzo Engwanda (hamstring), Kevin Paredes (knee), Miliano Jonathans (ACL) and Victor Jensen (knee).

Artem Stepanov approaches this weekend with the momentum of having scored in five straight league matches, aiming to extend that streak during Sunday’s fixture.

Despite their clear dependence on Stepanov, De Wit has found the net in consecutive games against Go Ahead Eagles and Excelsior, providing the away team with an additional goal-scoring threat ahead of the seventh matchday.

Feyenoord probable starting XI:

Ernst; Read, Watanabe, St Juste, Marmol; Zechiel, Vanhoutte, Targhalline; Hajj Moussa, Nacho, Valente

FC Utrecht probable starting XI:

Barkas; Vesterlund, Horemans, Didden, Panagiotou, Zagre; Alarcon, De Wit, Van den Berg, Cathline; Stepanov

Feyenoord not only holds the historical upper hand in this matchup, but they enter the fixture on the back of an impressive 7-0 victory over PEC Zwolle.

While Van Bronckhorst’s squad has yet to achieve a home league win this season, they should be optimistic about breaking that streak against a team they have defeated in seven of their last eight meetings.