Almere City will be looking to end their run of seven Eredivisie games without a win when they play host to Sparta Rotterdam at the Yanmar Stadion on Saturday.
Having suffered a 2-1 loss in November's reverse fixture, De Kasteelheren will head into the weekend seeking to get one over the hosts and resume their push for European football.
Match preview
With just five games to go before the 2023-24 Eredivisie campaign draws to a close, Almere City will feel delighted with what has been an impressive first-ever outing in the top flight.
Alex Pastoor's side have picked up 33 points from 29 matches to sit 12th in the table, level on points with 11th-placed Heerenveen and 11 points above Excelsior in the relegation playoff spot.
Almere City have lost just 10 games so far — the fewest number of defeats among the sides in the bottom half of the table — and have also shown resilience as they hold the highest number of stalemates so far this season (12).
This was highlighted last Saturday, when they fought back from behind to salvage a 1-1 draw with Go Ahead Eagles, with Oliver Valaker Edvardsen and Thomas Robinet scoring for either side at De Adelaarshorst.
However, with that result, Almere City have now gone seven consecutive Eredivisie games without a win, losing 2-0 against Feyenoord on February 25 before playing out six draws in their subsequent six outings.
De Zwarte Schapen's most recent victory came on February 19, when they beat PEC Zwolle 1-0 at the MAC3PARK Stadion courtesy of a second-half strike from Robinet.
While Almere City will be looking to return to winning ways this weekend, next up is the challenge of an opposing side who are unbeaten in 10 of their last 15 meetings, claiming nine wins and one draw since August 2010.
Sparta Rotterdam were sent crashing back down to earth last Saturday as they suffered a 2-1 home defeat against Heracles when the sides squared off at the S.
Charles-Andreas Brym netted on the stroke of half time to hand the hosts a first-half lead but second-half goals from Justin Hoogma and Jizz Hornkamp helped Heracles turn the game on its head.
Prior to that, Jeroen Rijsdijk's men were on a three-game unbeaten run, claiming a 2-2 draw with Ajax on March 13 before picking up consecutive victories over Fortuna Sittard and Vitesse respectively.
Sparta have now lost 12 of their 29 Eredivisie matches while picking up 10 wins and seven draws to collect 37 points and sit ninth in the table, five points behind eighth-placed Utrecht in the Europa Conference League playoff spot.
Team News
Almere City remain without the Dutch duo of Danny Post and 26-year-old goalkeeper Nordin Bakker, who are currently recuperating from shin and groin injuries respectively.
Swiss goalkeeper Stijn Keller has been out of action since March through a shoulder problem, while Yann Kitala has been ruled out due to a muscle injury.
With his equaliser against Go Ahead Eagles, Robinet now has 10 league goals under his belt and we expect the French striker to spearhead De Zwarte Schapen's attack once again, alongside strike partner Yoann Cathline.
As for Sparta Rotterdam, Rijsdijk will be unable to name the Norwegian duo of striker Tobias Lauritsen and midfielder Joshua Kitolano, who have been sidelined through injuries.
Experienced midfielder Django Warmerdam has missed each of the last seven matches since coming off injured in February and will also play no part in Saturday's game.
Almere City possible starting lineup:
Radlinger; Jacobs, Van Bruggen, Floranus; Koopmeiners, Akujobi, Ritmeester, Pena, Nalic; Robinet, Cathline
Sparta Rotterdam possible starting lineup:
Olij; Bakari, Vriends, Eerdhuijzen, Van der Kust; Metinho, Clement; Mito, Verschueren, Saito; Brym
We say: Almere City 2-2 Sparta Rotterdam
The last seven meetings between Almere City and Sparta Rotterdam have produced a combined 28 goals and we anticipate another action-packed contest at the Yanmar Stadion this weekend. We predict both sides will cancel out each other's efforts and settle for a share of the spoils.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
