Heerenveen vs RKC Waalwijk prediction 15.01.2026 | KNVB Beker

Heerenveen have another solid season. They are a mid-table Eredivisie team with a solid chance of playing in the Conference League playoffs. The last few weeks have been excellent for Robin Veldman's team, which is unbeaten in its previous four matches. In the most recent outing, Heerenveen played 2-2 at home against Feyenoord. The home side was better, especially in the second half, and deserved another big point. A performance like that will surely boost Heerenveen's confidence ahead of Thursday's match against RKC Waalwijk.

Heerenveen's head coach, Robin Weldman, wasn't fully satisfied with a draw against Feyenoord. He said, "The players were also irritated on the pitch: we could have done better. We could have easily taken three points from the match. That speaks volumes about our positive play and attacking football. We also know there are still things we need to improve in the final stages, but we're growing. They have to take us into account."

Heerenveen have some problems with missing players. They will be without Bernt Klaverboer and Levi Smans, while Jacob Trenskow is questionable.

After six years in the top flight of Dutch football, RKC Waalwijk returned to Eerste Divisie this season. Some pundits saw them as one of the promotion candidates, but after more than halfway through the campaign, Sander Duits' team is looking more like a mid-table team. RKC Waalwijk won only three of the last nine matches in all competitions. In the previous game, they won 2-0 on the road against Jong Ajax. The visitors ended with xG of 1.47, while the hosts had only 0.71, so RKC's victory was well-deserved. 

RKC Waalwijk's game on Thursday in Heerenveen will be the first for Duits' team after more than 20 days. In the meantime, some changes have been made. Jordi Altena left RKC and signed for Hearts. On the other hand, the team from Waalwijk signed Yoram van der Veen, Quentin van Beekveld, and Tom Bramel. All three players could debut in the upcoming cup clash. 

RKC's Tim van de Loo is injured and will not travel to Heerenveen, while Liam van Gelderen is questionable and his status will be clearer closer to the kickoff.