How the Eredivisie title race is shaping up ahead of the second half of the season

As the domestic leagues across Europe begin to gather momentum again after the unprecedented hiatus for the Qatar World Cup, there are some thrilling title races set to pan out across the continent — including Arsenal seeking their first Premier League success since their invincible season in 2003/04 and Real Madrid and Barcelona deadlocked at the top of La Liga.

There is also a thrilling fight for supremacy set to get back underway at the top of the Eredivisie, where Feyenoord currently hold a slender three-point lead over their usual rivals Ajax and PSV Eindhoven.

The Amsterdam-based side are tipped to end the season victorious for a fourth year in a row going by the odds on this website, however, with present table toppers Feyenoord being backed to slip down to third behind PSV.

With 20 games left to play at the time of writing, it could be anyone’s title come the end of the season in May. So, with that in mind, read on as we take a look at each of the front runners vying to be crowned Eredivisie champions.

Feyenoord

Kicking things off with the league leaders, Feyenoord have displayed some fine form thus far this season. The Club on the Meuse have lost just one of their opening 15 games, losing a seven-goal thriller 4-3 to PSV in Eindhoven back in September, while they have impressively won 10 — including a seven-game win streak prior to the World Cup stoppage.

Arne Slot’s men need to keep up that form if they want to maintain their place at the top of the Eredivisie table though — as they host Ajax at De Kuip in a must-win encounter on January 22^nd.

While Feyenoord have enjoyed a fantastic start to the season, they arguably don’t boast as good a squad as PSV and Ajax and that could see them fall behind their rivals down the stretch between now and the end of the season.

Ajax

The break for the World Cup arguably came at the right time for Ajax, as the Sons of the Gods’ form dipped drastically in the final few weeks before the hiatus — as they lost at home to PSV (2-1) before being held to disappointing draws against 13^th place Vitesse and relegation contenders Emmen respectively.

If the Amsterdam side want to retain the title for the fourth-straight year, they need to get off on the right foot — gaining some much-needed confidence and momentum for that trip to Feyenoord.

Alfred Schreuder will be confident in his side’s ability, but he’ll be hoping that he can stop the likes of Mohammed Kudus and Edson Alvarez from being lured away from the Johan Cruyff Arena in the January window — especially after already losing Daley Blind, as the club and player agreed to a mutual termination of his contract.

PSV

It’s impossible to talk about PSV without mentioning the fact that they have lost captain Cody Gakpo to Liverpool. It was inevitable that the 23-year-old was going to get a big move following his performances for the Netherlands at the World Cup, and the Reds were quick to snap him up for £44 million — beating their bitter rivals Manchester United to his signature.

Gakpo was crucial for PSV in the first half of the season, scoring nine goals and registering 12 assists in 14 games — including playing a part in all four of his side’s goals in that aforementioned 4-3 victory over Feyenoord, scoring one and setting up three.

It’s unclear how Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side will fare without their most crucial player, but it’s fair to say that his goal contribution will not be easy to replace and PSV’s form could suffer as a result.

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