In the land of tulips and windmills, we're setting our sights on an enticing Eredivisie match between the cheddar-cheeked lads of FC Groningen and Go Ahead Eagles. Now, I'd be remiss not to mention the feisty fellows guarding the nets: FC Groningen's Etienne Vaessen is solid as a rock with a 7.40 rating and 12 saves this season. On the other side, there's Luca Plogmann of Go Ahead Eagles, not far behind with a 7.00 rating and 13 saves. Iron curtains, both of them.
Now, let's talk footwork. FC Groningen's top player on the roster is Tika de Jonge with an impressive 8.00 rating, although he could certainly put those boots to better use with some goal-scoring. Brynjólfur Darri Willumsson, though, is the man pulling his weight with 2 goals for the side. Over in Eagles' nest, Enric Llansana and Evert Linthorst appear to be holding the fort with equally strong 7.07 ratings.
Delving into historical skirmishes, these teams are quite evenly matched with a draw in their last head-to-head. Though it was neither a battle of epic proportions nor a snoozefest, it was definitely a hard-fought game of finesse and endurance.
Eagles this season have a win-draw-loss record of 2-1-3, indicating a bit of a roller-coaster ride. But hey, kudos for that recent plucky draw against Ajax. Groningen, meanwhile, doesn't quite look like the team that unleashes hell on the opposition with a regular season record of 2-3-1. However, their last five matches included a couple of close draws and a loss against SC Heerenveen.
So, who will ride this Dutch carousel to yield candy floss results? Considering the illuminating ebb and flow of form, performance and everything else that my morning coffee failed to offer me, my senses point towards:
Albert’s Prediction: FC Groningen by 1