Utrecht host Willem II in the Eredivisie. Both clubs have had a difficult start to the campaign, short on results and short on confidence at the back.
Neither side has managed to keep things tight defensively in recent weeks. How much that continues is worth digging into before deciding what to make of this one.
Analysis updated .
Where to place this bet
Leaky defences on both sides
Utrecht's recent Eredivisie matches have swung wildly. They shipped six at home to PSV and four to AZ, but also beat Excelsior away and drew twice by three goals apiece against Sparta and GO Ahead Eagles.
What could your bet return?
Potential returns include your stake. Odds may change.
Utrecht: 20 completed matches; Willem II: 20 completed matches.
Utrecht
- Win
- 35% 7 / 20
- Draw
- 15% 3 / 20
- Loss
- 50% 10 / 20
- Scored
- 32
- Conceded
- 45
- Difference
- -13
Willem II
- Win
- 45% 9 / 20
- Draw
- 20% 4 / 20
- Loss
- 35% 7 / 20
- Scored
- 27
- Conceded
- 31
- Difference
- -4
| League | Home | Away | Date | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eredivisie | Feyenoord | Utrecht | 20.09.2026 | 5-0 |
| Eredivisie | Excelsior | Utrecht | 13.09.2026 | 1-2 |
| Eredivisie | Utrecht | GO Ahead Eagles | 08.09.2026 | 3-3 |
| Eredivisie | Utrecht | PSV Eindhoven | 30.08.2026 | 1-6 |
| Eredivisie | Sparta Rotterdam | Utrecht | 22.08.2026 | 3-3 |
| Eredivisie | Utrecht | AZ Alkmaar | 15.08.2026 | 1-4 |
| Eredivisie | Groningen | Utrecht | 09.08.2026 | 2-1 |
| Friendlies Clubs | Utrecht | Sevilla | 02.08.2026 | 0-1 |
| Friendlies Clubs | Cambuur | Utrecht | 24.07.2026 | 1-0 |
| Friendlies Clubs | Utrecht | V-varen Nagasaki | 17.07.2026 | 3-2 |
| League | Home | Away | Date | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eredivisie | Willem II | Fortuna Sittard | 19.09.2026 | 0-1 |
| Eredivisie | Ajax | Willem II | 15.09.2026 | 5-1 |
| Eredivisie | AZ Alkmaar | Willem II | 11.09.2026 | 1-1 |
| Eredivisie | Willem II | Excelsior | 05.09.2026 | 0-3 |
| Eredivisie | Willem II | Heerenveen | 30.08.2026 | 2-2 |
| Eredivisie | Willem II | NEC Nijmegen | 15.08.2026 | 1-4 |
| Eredivisie | GO Ahead Eagles | Willem II | 08.08.2026 | 4-1 |
| Friendlies Clubs | Willem II | OFI | 01.08.2026 | 2-1 |
| Friendlies Clubs | Willem II | KV Mechelen | 25.07.2026 | 1-0 |
| Friendlies Clubs | Willem II | FC Eindhoven | 11.07.2026 | 2-2 |
Willem II's form reads just as shaky. They've lost at home to Fortuna Sittard, Excelsior and NEC, been beaten 5-1 at Ajax, and only really steadied things with draws against AZ and Heerenveen.
Both teams are conceding regularly, which tends to make for open, goal-friendly matches.
Comparative Team Statistics: Utrecht vs Willem II
Recent meetings lean Utrecht's way
The last two league meetings both went to Utrecht, 3-2 at home and 3-2 away last season. Willem II's most recent win in the fixture came back in 2022, a 3-0 home success.
| League | Home | Away | Date | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eredivisie | Willem II | Utrecht | 09.03.2025 | 2-3 |
| Eredivisie | Utrecht | Willem II | 21.09.2024 | 3-2 |
| Eredivisie | Willem II | Utrecht | 15.05.2022 | 3-0 |
| Eredivisie | Utrecht | Willem II | 31.10.2021 | 5-1 |
| Eredivisie | Utrecht | Willem II | 01.05.2021 | 3-2 |
| Eredivisie | Willem II | Utrecht | 19.02.2021 | 0-6 |
| Eredivisie | Willem II | Utrecht | 16.02.2020 | 1-1 |
| Eredivisie | Utrecht | Willem II | 29.09.2019 | 2-0 |
| Eredivisie | Utrecht | Willem II | 27.01.2019 | 0-1 |
| Eredivisie | Willem II | Utrecht | 28.10.2018 | 0-1 |
Further back the head-to-head has thrown up some big scorelines, including a 6-0 and a 5-1, so goals have never been in short supply between these two.
History doesn't guarantee a repeat, but it does suggest this fixture rarely stays quiet.
Both sides deep in the bottom half
Utrecht sit 15th after seven games with just five points, having scored 11 and conceded 24. Willem II are below them in 18th with only two points, six goals scored and 20 conceded.
| № | Team | Played | Win | Draw | Loss | GF/GA | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Cambuur | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 10/19 | 5 |
| 15 | Utrecht | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 11/24 | 5 |
| 16 | PEC Zwolle | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6/20 | 4 |
| 17 | ADO Den Haag | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7/17 | 2 |
| 18 | Willem II | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6/20 | 2 |
Neither record points to a settled team, but Willem II's numbers are the weaker of the two on both ends of the pitch.
Stepanov still finding the net
Amid Utrecht's inconsistent results, Artem Stepanov has kept scoring, with five goals in six matches. That's a rare bright spot for a side otherwise struggling for control of games.
x 2 x 2
x 2There's little else notable from the player data beyond a couple of players on both sides picking up regular yellow cards, nothing that points to suspension concerns.
An open game looks likely
Put the numbers together and both sides have been leaking goals at a similar rate this season, while also finding the net themselves often enough. Utrecht's home matches and Willem II's away trips have both produced plenty of multi-goal scorelines recently.
With Willem II struggling for points and Utrecht searching for defensive stability, neither team looks set up to shut up shop.
The pattern across both team's matches this season points more towards goals than a tight, low-scoring affair.
Match odds and squad lists
Squad and player details
| Name | Country | Age | Position | Height | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. Zagré | France | 25 | Defender | 168 | 55 |
| D. de Wit | Netherlands | 28 | Midfielder | 184 | 76 |
| V. Barkas | Greece | 32 | Goalkeeper | 196 | 88 |
| N. Amrabat | Morocco | 39 | Attacker | 179 | 73 |
| N. Panagiotou | Cyprus | 26 | Defender | 183 | n/a |
| J. van Overeem | Netherlands | 32 | Midfielder | 181 | 73 |
| M. Brouwer | Netherlands | 33 | Goalkeeper | 189 | 81 |
| M. Eerdhuijzen | Netherlands | 26 | Defender | 194 | 85 |
| S. Horemans | Belgium | 28 | Defender | 186 | 68 |
| S. Padt | Netherlands | 36 | Goalkeeper | 192 | 85 |
| N. Vesterlund | Denmark | 27 | Defender | 185 | 80 |
| N. Nwankwo | Netherlands | 28 | Defender | 181 cm | n/a |
| J. Medić | Croatia | 28 | Defender | 193 | 91 |
| D. Min | Netherlands | 27 | Attacker | 194 | 78 |
| K. Paredes | USA | 23 | Midfielder | 170 | 61 |
| D. van den Berg | Netherlands | 26 | Midfielder | 190 | 75 |
| M. Didden | Belgium | 24 | Defender | 198 | 91 |
| Y. Cathline | France | 24 | Attacker | 176 | 68 |
| G. Offerhaus | Netherlands | 25 | Defender | 188 | n/a |
| Zidane Iqbal | Iraq | 23 | Midfielder | 181 | 71 |
| Name | Country | Age | Position | Height | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T. Didillon | France | 30 | Goalkeeper | 193 cm | 80 kg |
| J. Hoogma | Netherlands | 28 | Defender | 190 cm | 81 kg |
| H. ter Avest | Netherlands | 29 | Defender | 182 | 78 |
| V. van Crooij | Netherlands | 30 | Midfielder | 179 | 76 |
| A. Ciranni | Belgium | 30 | Midfielder | 172 cm | 66 kg |
| T. Vilhena | Netherlands | 31 | Midfielder | 175 | 70 |
| W. van der Steen | Netherlands | 36 | Goalkeeper | 187 cm | 84 kg |
| T. Verheydt | Netherlands | 34 | Attacker | 192 cm | 93 kg |
| J. Schuurman | Netherlands | 29 | Midfielder | 180 cm | 65 kg |
| M. Delanghe | Belgium | 25 | Goalkeeper | 189 | 83 |
| N. Tjoe-A-On | Netherlands | 24 | Defender | 182 cm | 78 kg |
| A. Et-Taïbi | Morocco | 23 | Defender | n/a | n/a |
| C. Twigt | Netherlands | 23 | Midfielder | 183 | 74 |
| D. Haen | Netherlands | 22 | Attacker | 183 cm | 65 kg |
| M. Dekker | Netherlands | 22 | Defender | 190 | 80 |
| F. Stam | Netherlands | 23 | Defender | 188 cm | 82 kg |
| M. Lemmens | Belgium | 24 | Defender | 186 | n/a |
| J. Slory | Netherlands | 21 | Midfielder | 175 | 70 |
| O. Martin | Denmark | 18 | Attacker | 188 | 68 |
| K. Boogaard | Netherlands | 20 | Midfielder | 183 cm | n/a |
Both teams have shown they can be got at defensively, and that pattern has held up across a good number of matches this season for each of them.
Given how often goals have featured in their recent form and in this specific fixture historically, backing plenty of goals looks like the more sensible route into this one.
Match result odds
Who will win?
