Ajax midfielder Siem de Jong knows his side will face a stern test of their title credentials when they take on ADO Den Haag this weekend.

The Amsterdam club enter Sunday's game in third, with ADO five places and nine points adrift of them, and 21-year-old De Jong is expecting one of the toughest battles of the season. "They play very well and play a good 4-3-3 formation," he told his club's official website, ajax.nl. "They make it difficult for many opponents."

They also have former Ajax youngster Christian Supusepa on their books, a man De Jong knows well. "From the moment I arrived at Ajax I played with him, in under-age teams for Ajax and Holland," he said. "He was one of our better players and often captain. But since then he has been unlucky with injuries."

The only game tomorrow night sees bottom side Willem II face second-from-bottom VVV-Venlo, whose striker Ahmed Musa believes Willem II are a better side than their league position suggests.

"They are no worse than (mid-table) teams like De Graafschap and Excelsior," he said. "In Andreas Lasnik they also have an unpredictable player. We have been warned."

In Andreas Lasnik they also have an unpredictable player. We have been warned.
Ahmed Musa, VVV-Venlo forward

Leaders FC Twente host Excelsior on the back of an impressive 2-0 UEFA Champions League win at Werder Bremen, and goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov wants them to use the positives from the result on Saturday.

"It was an achievement, in view of the number of absent players," he said on fctwente.nl. "It was a beautiful evening for us and our supporters. We were very concentrated and that made the difference."

Excelsior boss Alex Pastoor goes into the fixture without a win in seven games and he knows there is no quick answer to his side's problems. "When you look at the last two matches and the amount of opportunities we had, I see little reason to adjust things," he said. "However, this is not a matter of pressing a button."

A mid-table battle takes place at De Vijverberg on Saturday with De Graafschap taking on NEC, and the Superboeren's French striker Hugo Bargas is hoping home advantage will be telling. He told degraafschap.nl: "They are a good team with some good players, including Lasse Schone, our former player. It will be difficult, but we are at home."

PSV Eindhoven go to Utrecht on Sunday looking to reclaim top spot after their 1-0 loss to Twente last weekend, with both sides having to back-up from games in the UEFA Europa League.

FC Groningen return to Euroborg on Saturday for a home meeting with mid-table NAC Breda after their thrilling 5-3 win at VVV-Venlo last time out, while former Spain defender Albert Ferrer takes charge of struggling Vitesse Arnhem for the first time in a home game when they taken on AZ Alkmaar on Sunday.

Also on Sunday, Feyenoord will be looking for some consistency when they take on Roda JC, the day after Heerenveen face Heracles Almelo.