Feyenoord v SC Heerenveen Preview: Can Heerenveen give Robin van Persie something to cheer about on return to Rotterdam? | OneFootball

Robin van Persie returns to Feyenoord for the first time as a head coach on Saturday evening. The former Arsenal and Manchester United forward has had a tricky start to his time in charge of SC Heerenveen, with the side sitting in 12th spot in the Eredivisie, with just four wins in 12 matches. They face a Feyenoord side in fourth place, eight points behind leaders PSV. Van Persie left the club having spent the last few seasons working in various coaching roles.

Despite the gap between the sides, Feyenoord actually have a worse record at home than their opponents. The Rotterdam club have won three of their five home games and would be in ninth place if the table was based on just home form alone. They have scored eight goals and conceded six. The side have won three of their last five, with defeats to Ajax and RB Salzburg both coming at home. Quinten Timber leads the side with four goals, while Igor Paixao has four assists. The side do have a long injury list, including Santiago Gimenez, Ayase Ueda and Calvin Stengs.

Heerenveen have been dreadful away from home. They have the worst away record, losing all six and scoring just twice. Compounding this issue has been the poor performance of the defence away from home, which has shipped an incredible 20 goals. Given that the side has only conceded three at home, van Persie will be desperately trying to work out what the problem is on the road. Like Feyenoord, they have won three of their last five in all competitions, including a 1-0 win over Go Ahead Eagles before the international break. Jacob Trenskow leads the side with four goals and he has also grabbed two assists since joining in the summer from Swedish side Kalmar.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson – Author of The Africa Cup of Nations: The History of an Underappreciated Tournament