Vitesse Arnhem can return to Europa League next season
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Vitesse Arnhem would have undoubtedly been aiming to finish in the top seven at the start of the season, in order to be in with a chance of return to European competition next season.
They missed out this year after a poor showing last term, in which they eventually finished in ninth, just outside of the European play-off spots. With the Dutch top flight receiving one less Europa League spot next season, it seemed like they would miss out once again after struggling for large periods throughout the first half of the 2016/17 campaign.
They won just two of their opening five matches, which left them with points to make up from the start, and a run of six games without a win between October and November hardly served to convince that they would recover as the campaign went on.
Those poor displays left them trailing outside of the top seven, but a run of five wins from the seven games that they have played since has seen them catch up. A convincing 2-0 win over relegation candidates Den Haag in their latest match saw them climb up fifth. As they played in the weekend’s early fixture, they would fall back down the table over the course of the weekend, but they still remain in a great position heading into the last few months of the season.
Aside from a visit to Ajax in a few weeks time that will likely result in a defeat, Vitesse have an easy run of games over the next month or so, in which they face four sides that they will be confident of beating. Two of those games come against relegation candidates in Go Ahead Eagles and PEC Zwolle, which should be six easy points for the club.
11th place Willem II and 13th placed Sparta Rotterdam will put up more of a test and will undoubtedly test their credentials. However, they have proved in recent weeks that they can compete against the league’s very best sides, having toppled AZ Alkmaar in the league a few weeks ago. Likewise, just a few days prior to that victory, they also knocked Eredivisie leaders Feyenoord out of the KNVB Cup.
Vitesse have a difficult run-in, which contains tough fixtures against top four sides Feyenoord, Ajax, PSV Eindhoven and Heerenveen, but given their recent run of form, they have more than enough about them to beat their rivals to a top seven finish.
Then all that will stand between them is two play-off matches, but having already held their own against Heerenveen, AZ Alkmaar, FC Utrecht and FC Twente, the other four sides in the running for the play-off places, there is no reason why they can’t do it again.
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