Feyenoord will look to end the 2023-24 Eredivisie season on a winning note when they host a struggling SBV Excelsior at De Kuip on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts are on 81 points heading into gameweek 34 of what has been an exhilarating league season, while the visitors are on 29 points and currently in the relegation playoff spot.
Match preview
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Despite only losing two top-flight games this season, Feyenoord have come up short in their quest to defend the title and were forced to relinquish the Eredivisie crown to PSV a fortnight ago.
Nevertheless, the Pride of South will not end the season empty-handed as they have secured their place in next season's Champions League and also claimed the KNVB Beker trophy, beating NEC 1-0 in a hard-fought final last month.
They met the same opponent last week in the league and were again made to work for their win but managed to pull off a 3-2 victory thanks to a late winner by Ayase Ueda after their opponents were reduced to 10 men in the second half.
Feyenoord are set for a massive change over the summer, with manager Arne Slot bringing an end to speculation, confirming in the week that he will be departing Rotterdam in the summer and will head for the Premier League to replace Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool boss for the 2024-25 campaign.
Slot will now look to sign off on a winning note, and his side enter this match in excellent form, currently on a six-match winning streak in all competitions and unbeaten in their last 13, dating back to their Europa League defeat to Roma back in February.
While Feyenoord's fate for the season has already been confirmed, the same cannot be said for Excelsior, who are currently sat in the sole relegation playoff spot and facing perhaps the last opponent they would have wanted to in the final game of the season.
The Kralingers pulled off a clutch 4-0 win over Heracles last week, but frustratingly, it was not enough to see them move out of the bottom three, with 15th-placed RKC Waalwijk managing a late draw at home to PEC Zwolle.
Excelsior are currently three goals behind RKC but are still in with a chance of ending the season in 14th place if they somehow manage an upset victory here and Waalwijk and Heracles lose. That would see them leapfrog both teams owing to HAFC's dismal -33 goal difference.
However, the visitors have only won two away games all season and have lost eight of their last 10. In addition, they lost their last three games against this opponent in all competitions and were outscored 11-3 during that time.
Team News
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Feyenoord will end the campaign with a whole host of players on the treatment table, including first-team regulars Santiago Gimenez, Bart Nieuwkoop and midfield enforcer Mats Wieffer.
Antoni Milambo and Quilindschy Hartman are both flagged as major doubts due to a knock and knee injury, respectively, while Gjivai Zechiel is still on the road to recovery from an ACL injury.
For the visitors, former Ajax defender Kik Pierie has been out since February with a foot injury and will not be available for selection on Sunday. He will join long-term absentees Lennard Hartjes and Serano Seymor on the sidelines.
Norbert Alblas is the only other known injury absentee for Excelsior, meaning Stijn van Gassel will continue between the sticks behind the central defensive partnership of Siebe Horemans and Redouan El Yaakoubi.
Feyenoord possible starting lineup:
Bijlow; Geertruida, Beelen, Hancko, Lopez; Stengs, Zerrouki, Van den Belt; Ivanusec, Ueda, Minteh
SBV Excelsior possible starting lineup:
Van Gassel; Benita, Horemans, El Yaakoubi, Zagre; Fernandes, Baas, Lamprou, Goudmijn, Duijvestijn; Parrott
We say: Feyenoord 4-1 SBV Excelsior
Feyenoord have been in excellent form over the last few months, but unfortunately for them, PSV have been a cut above the rest this term. Still, the hosts will want to give Arne Slot a memorable send-off and we feel they will do so with a comfortable victory in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
