But who are the favourites, who want to challenge for the title, and who have to be wary of the dangers of the relegation zone? Flashscore open the Eredivisie season with a comprehensive, all-encompassing preview.
PSV looking to three-peat
It wouldn't be sensible to start talking about title candidates without first mentioning the team that won two titles on the spin - PSV have dominated the Dutch Eredivisie in the last two years, but start the season with a team that's almost different to the core.
Captain Luuk de Jong left on a free transfer, as did long-time centre-half Olivier Boscagli, goalkeeper Walter Benitez, right-backs Richard Ledezma and Rick Karsdorp, and striker Lucas Perez.
Along with De Jong, Noa Lang (Napoli) and Johan Bakayoko (RB Leipzig) have left the Eindhoven club, leaving PSV to restructure nearly their entire forward line.
However, the biggest loss of all will be German-American midfielder Malik Tillman, who returned to Germany on a €35 million deal to Bayer Leverkusen.
But as a budding monopolist does, PSV have impressively reinforced their team. Winger Ruben van Bommel, the son of club icon Mark van Bommel, joined PSV from AZ on a deal worth €16 million, Spanish centre-half Yarek Gasiorowski joined from Valencia, right-back Kiliann Sildillia and striker Alassane Plea joined from the Bundesliga, and goalkeepers Nick Olij (€3 million from Sparta) and Matej Kovar (on loan from Leverkusen) joined the champions as well.
PSV's midfield was stunning during the previous campaign, combining for a staggering 69 goal contributions as PSV scored 103 league goals. Top scorer Ricardo Pepi remained in Eindhoven, as did Ivan Perisic, who notched 17 goal contributions last year, and Ismael Saibari, who put up double digits in both goals and assists.
The title looks to be PSV's to lose again. Could the mighty Eindhoven side three-peat under manager Peter Bosz?
New-look Ajax loom
PSV narrowly won a thrilling title race last season. Ajax, however, may feel they lost that race rather than that PSV won it.
Under the guidance of Francesco Farioli, the Amsterdam giants woke up from a deep slumber and nearly won a remarkable title, only for the team to squander a double-digit-point lead in the final weeks of the league.
With former Liverpool assistant Johnny Heitinga now at the helm, Ajax want to continue their attack on PSV. They, too, will have to do this with a new face: defensive star Jorrel Hato left for Chelsea, and a slew of players were offloaded for pennies after being ruled redundant. And an actual new face in the form of a new logo.
In return, Ajax bolstered their attack by getting Spanish U21 international Raul Moro and Red Bull Salzburg phenom Oscar Gloukh on board. On the opposite side of the pitch, Liverpool stopper Viteszlav Jaros was brought in to replace the ageing Remko Pasveer, whose permanent successor was also reeled in: Dutch U19 international Joeri Heerkens.
Heitinga showed intent with a high-press system in pre-season, which Ajax concluded with four wins, two draws, and one loss.
One big concern: just one of their 19 pre-season goals was scored by a striker. Bertrand Traore scored in the final pre-season friendly against Monaco - a game in which he wasn't even supposed to be the striker, but had to play there following Brian Brobbey's injury - the same Brobbey who scored four goals in 30 Eredivisie appearances last season. Will striker issues cost Ajax dearly?
First managerial success for Robin van Persie?
Another dangerous contender is Feyenoord, led by club icon Robin van Persie.
No Dutch team has been as active on the transfer market as the Rotterdam giants. Perhaps not necessarily by choice, rather than need, but eight new faces make for a new-look Feyenoord side to be reckoned with.
Sem Steijn, last season's Eredivisie top scorer with 24 goals, was hauled in for €10 million from FC Twente, as well as midfield mastermind Luciano Valente from FC Groningen. From outside of the Netherlands, Feyenoord went shopping for Porto winger Goncalo Borges, Gent defender Tsuyoshi Watanabe, Sheffield United centre-half Anel Ahmedhodzic, Benfica striker Casper Tengstedt, Australian left-back Jordan Bos, and Istanbulspor winger Gaoussou Diarra.
The necessity arose as some of the team's biggest stars left for pastures green. Slovak stalwart David Hancko landed at Atletico Madrid after a wild transfer saga with Al Nassr, forward star Igor Paixao left for Olympique Marseille, and budding midfield maestro Antoni Milambo got his big Premier League move by joining Brentford.
Robin van Persie got to show his side's potential in the final months of last season, in which Feyenoord went on an imperious seven-game winning streak to snatch the third spot from FC Utrecht's firm grasp. Scoring 24 goals during those seven games also showed their firepower, but how much of that will be left by the start of the new season?
Battle for Europe
Behind PSV, Ajax, and Feyenoord, another enthralling battle is set to ensue between FC Utrecht, FC Twente, AZ, and Go Ahead Eagles.
Go Ahead Eagles wrote history by winning their first piece of silverware since the 1930s, as they beat AZ in a thriller of a KNVB Beker final. The Eagles will now feature in Europe for the first time since the 1960s and have kept their squad largely the same. However, manager Paul Simonis left for Wolfsburg, along with the Eredivisie's assist king, Oliver Antman, who joined Rangers. Jakob Breum, meanwhile, could still leave with Celtic interested in the young Dane.
For the fans, it won't matter. European football will be played in Deventer - lifelong dreams will come true, and anything else will be a nice extra.
FC Utrecht played a phenomenal 2024/25 campaign, in which they held onto the third spot for what seemed like forever and even got involved in the title battle for a short while. Under the trusted guidance of Ron Jans, FC Utrecht are looking to build on their successful campaign and impress in both Europe and the Eredivisie.
One question remains: with which striker? Will David Min conquer a starting spot, or will Noah Ohio live up to his promise?
FC Twente, meanwhile, gathered their thoughts after a disappointing loss in the play-off final versus AZ. Losing top scorer Sem Steijn left a big hole in Twente's team - a hole they hope will be filled by former Ajax midfielder Kristian Hlynsson.
AZ have already had to play at full capacity after Finnish side Ilves Tampere put the Alkmaar outfit on the brink of European elimination. A rusty 4-3 loss was made up for with a 5-0 home win, securing AZ a spot in the third round of the Conference League qualifying phase.
Much like Utrecht and Twente, not much has changed for AZ. Troy Parrott and Mexx Meerdink stayed put, just like future star Kees Smit. Only Ruben van Bommel, Jayden Addai, David Moller Wolfe, and Bruno Martins Indi left the club that always finds a credible solution for these situations.
Packed midfield
Last year's midfield battle was a beauty to behold.
Behind cup winners Go Ahead Eagles, who cruised towards a seventh-placed finish, the final two playoff spots were up for grabs right up to the last minute of the season. So much so that every team between the eighth and 14th place, which were separated by just two points, in the standings had the opportunity to head into the play-offs for Conference League football.
The season concluded with eighth-placed NEC Nijmegen and fourteenth-placed Heracles separated by five points, meaning that Heerenveen, PEC Zwolle, Fortuna Sittard, Sparta, and FC Groningen all had everything to fight for on the final day.
Except for Fortuna, however, as they messed up their UEFA license and could not enter the play-offs. Even more reason for them to rebound from that disappointing campaign, especially considering former Barcelona wonderkid Alen Halilovic is still active in Sittard.
NEC, who rock four different crests and seven different kits this season to celebrate their 115th anniversary, have also been active on the market. Goalkeeper Robin Roefs left for a club-record fee to join Sunderland. In contrast, Telstar phenom Youssef El Kachati, Virgil Misidjan, Tjaronn Chery, and Jasper Cillessen joined the Nijmegen side, who replaced manager Rogier Meijer with Dick Schreuder.
Heerenveen added PEC Zwolle's top scorer, Dylan Vente, to their squad after losing three strikers during this summer's transfer window. Ajax loanee Amourricho van Axel Dongen was brought in to bolster the attack, whereas Levi Smans, Oliver Braude, Marcus Linday, and Jacob Trenskow stayed true to the Frisians.
FC Groningen have some puzzling left to do with just three pure midfielders in their squad, one of which was named captain this offseason: Stije Resink. Oskar Zawada joined the Pride of the North from RKC Waalwijk, Jorg Schreuders stayed put as opposed to Luciano Valente, and so did Dutch youth international Thom van Bergen.
Manager Dick Lukkien will need to play his backup goalkeeper in the first three games, though, as Surinamese international Etienne Vaessen sits out a suspension after throwing a punch after the Ajax game at the end of last season.
Sparta Rotterdam, the country's oldest football club, made a remarkable comeback in the second half of last season and kept manager Maurice Steijn on board. With a mix of experience, brought by the likes of Jonathan de Guzman, Patrick van Aanholt, and Jens Toornstra, and youthful promise, coming from Marvin Young, Ayoub Oufkir and Shunsuke Mito, Sparta hope to turn some heads again this season.
Threatened by relegation
At the bottom of the table, a couple of notable relegation candidates jump out.
Telstar shocked many a football fan after clinching promotion to the Eredivisie through the play-offs. The team from Velsen-Zuid caused the upset by beating Willem II 3-1 on their own turf, thus securing their return to the Eredivisie for the first time since 1978.
A lack of spending in the transfer market followed their unlikely come-up. Telstar didn't spend a dime in the transfer window, reeling in goalkeeper Daan Reiziger from Cambuur and attracting four(!) players from amateur champions Quick Boys, who saw striker Milan Zonneveld, left-back Nigel Ogidi Nwankwo, his brother and centre-half Neville Ogidi Nwankwo, and winger Patrick Brouwer leave.
Youssef El Kachati, who scored 24 goals for Telstar last season, left the club for NEC Nijmegen. That leaves an inexperienced Telstar side who will have to fight for what they're worth, week after week.
Joining them in the danger zone are Excelsior, who returned to the Eredivisie after a short absence. Unlike Telstar, however, Excelsior have been active on the transfer market, reeling in seven players after losing eleven. Especially Lance Duijvestijn, who contributed to 20 goals last season, will be sorely missed in Rotterdam.
FC Volendam, reigning champions of the Dutch second tier, saw an even bigger contributor leave when Bilal Ould-Chikh, the beating creative heart of the team, who broke the record with 20 assists last season, left the club on a free transfer.
However, the golden duo of strikers Henk Veerman and Robert Muhren, who combined for a staggering 44 goals last season, remained at the club, giving the club some firepower to build on. Will they prove to be enough to stay up?
Finally, NAC Breda will have to find another gear and learn from last season in order to stay up. The Breda outfit lost star Leo Sauer after his loan spell expired, and hopes that Mohamed Nassoh or Brahim Ghalidi could fill the gap.
Besides Sauer, captain Jan Van den Berg, midfielder Dominik Janosek, striker Elias Mar Omarsson, and winger Adam Kaied also left the club, leaving manager Carl Hoefkens with a big challenge.
NAC finished last season by winning just one game since December 7th and not winning one of their last fourteen.
The Eredivisie season kicks off on Friday, August 8th, with a match between Fortuna Sittard and Go Ahead Eagles at 20.00 CET.
Follow the Dutch Eredivisie on Flashscore.
