Relegation stress at RKC, Willem II and NAC: an exciting lock awaits

During the winter break it almost seemed a certainty: RKC Waalwijk would be relegated. Only seven points were caught in the first seventeen games. With that, the club from Waalwijk was last, knowing that the lower two teams relegated directly.

After the winter break, the team of trainer Henk Fraser came up. Ajax was still lost 2-1, but in the subsequent four duels the Waalwijkers took ten points. The teams above it came again, but the last three games lost RKC again. The gap with number sixteen Willem II is seven points, with RKC Waalwijk played a duel less.

“It’s a tough disadvantage. But we have been a team that does not give up for months. That provides trust. I will not shy away from this challenge, but we are dependent on the other teams,” Fraser told PSV on Saturday after the loss.

It is a great poster: NAC against Willem II on May 18, 2025, the last day of the Eredivisie. The derby can just be loaded extra, due to the position in the ranking. Willem II is in the current sixteenth place. If they are still there at the end of this season, they have to fight for enforcement in the play-offs.

During the winter break, Willem II was neatly in nine, but in 2025 the Tilburgers lost seven league games and played 1-1 tied against Feyenoord and PSV. This year they did not yet keep the zero and the Tilburgers only scored seven times. Trainer Peter Maes has eight more games to go to a safe place in the ranking. On paper that is certainly possible, because six coming opponents are now in the left row and are therefore competitors.

Relegation stress is a bit less at NAC, but that team is also far from in shape. In the second half of the competition, the men of coach Carl Hoefkens took seven points in nine duels. Low was the 5-0 defeat against RKC Waalwijk.

The gap with the arch rival from Tilburg is five points, but the program is a lot harder with matches against Ajax and AZ. There are also exciting weeks in Breda.