Round 12 of the 2023-24 Eredivisie season sees Vitesse and Heerenveen face off against each other at the GelreDome Stadium on Saturday evening.
Off the back of respective defeats in their most recent outings, both teams set out this weekend aiming to secure a return to winning ways.
Match preview
Vitesse were on the receiving end of a 5-1 thrashing against Go Ahead Eagles when the teams faced off at De Adelaarshorst Stadium on Saturday.
Two goals from Willum Thor Willumsson either side of strikes from Oliver Edvardsen and Victor Edvardsen left Phillip Cocu's men with a mountain to climb after which Joris Kramer put the final nail in the coffin.
As a result, Geel en Zwart have dropped to bottom place in the Eredivisie table, albeit only one point adrift of safety as things stand.
On the menu next is the challenge of an opposing outfit with little to choose between the teams as the last 13 meetings have yielded four wins apiece and five stalemates.
Winless in six straight home matches leading up to this weekend's clash, Saturday's hosts will need to turn things around in front of their fans to steer clear of relegation danger.
Heerenveen were denied a third straight victory across all competitions as they fell to a 4-1 defeat against Ajax in Sunday's encounter at the Johan Cruyff ArenA.
Kees van Wonderen's men went into the interval trailing to strikes from Steven Bergwijn and Brian Brobbey before a late Chuba Akpom brace sealed the deal.
With 10 points amassed from 11 matches so far, De Superfriezen sit 13th in the standings, two points clear of the drop zone and as many behind the top half.
Having lost each of their last five away matches, Saturday's visitors have work to do at both ends of the pitch if they are to avoid another fruitless outing on the road.
Team News
Dutch duo Thomas Buitink and Fode Fofana are long-term absentees for Vitesse through knee injuries and will not play any part this weekend.
Davy Propper also misses out for the home side but continues to close in on making his return to full fitness from a long-term injury, which has seen him fail to feature this term.
Twenty-five-year-old Ion Nicolaescu is set to miss a fifth game on the bounce since suffering a torn muscle while on international duty with Moldova.
Following his strike against Ajax, Luuk Brouwers has now scored three times in his last three matches for the away side, making him one to keep an eye on.
Vitesse possible starting lineup:
Room; Mica, Hendriks, Isimat-Mirin, Oroz; Cornelisse, Meulensteen; Manhoef, Van Ginkel, Kozlowski; Hamulic
Heerenveen possible starting lineup:
Noppert; Kohlert, Bochniewicz, Van Beek, Braude; Olsson, Haye; Sahraoui, Brouwers, Nunnely; Van Amersfoort
We say: Vitesse 2-1 Heerenveen
With two defensively suspect sides going head-to-head, we are anticipating an exciting game with loads of chances at both ends. That said, we just about fancy Vitesse to carry the day come the end of the 90 minutes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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