Two sides at opposite ends of the Eredivisie table go head to head on Sunday evening as FC Twente play host to Heracles at De Grolsch Veste.
Having failed to win any of the last five meetings between the teams since September 2019, the Heraclieden will head into the weekend looking to get one over the hosts and pull clear of the relegation zone.
Match preview
Twente were left spitting feathers in their final outing before the international break as they fell to a 1-0 loss against PSV Eindhoven after conceding with the last significant kick of the game.
Joseph Oosting's side turned in a defensive show of class at the Philips Stadion to repel PSV but substitute Ricardo Pepi netted in the seventh minute of stoppage time to hand the league leaders a last-gasp victory.
Prior to that, Twente were on a run of three back-to-back victories — their joint-longest winning streak this season — seeing off Go Ahead Eagles, Vitesse and Sparta Rotterdam while scoring seven goals and conceding twice in that time.
The Tukkers have won 16 of their 26 Eredivisie matches so far while losing five and claiming five draws to collect 53 points and sit third in the league table, nine points off second-placed Feyenoord in the Champions League qualifying spot.
Twente's impressive campaign has been owing to the solid job done on home turf as they currently boast the division's second-best home record, having picked up 31 points from their 13 matches at De Grolsch Veste so far.
Heracles, on the other hand, secured three huge points in their battle at the bottom end of the table just before the international break as they claimed a 2-0 victory over Go Ahead Eagles on home turf.
Following an uneventful first half at the Erve Asito, the game sparked into life 10 minutes into the second period when Jizz Hornkamp broke the deadlock before Belgian forward Bryan Limbombe doubled the hosts' lead with a 69th-minute strike.
This was a much-needed respite for Erwin Van de Looi's men, who had managed just one point from their previous four outings — a run which saw them plunge into the relegation picture.
The Heraclieden have picked up 26 points from 26 Eredivisie matches to occupy 14th place in the standings, four points above 16th-placed RKC Waalwijk in the relegation playoff spot with just eight games left to go.
While Heracles will head into Sunday's tie looking to win successive games for the first time since September, they have struggled to get going on their travels, where they are currently on a four-game losing streak, conceding nine goals and scoring just once since their 2-1 victory at Waalwijk on January 12.
Team News
Twente will have to cope without Dutch defender Mees Hilgers, who has missed each of the last two matches since coming off injured in the game against Vitesse on March 2.
Other than that, the Tukkers head into the weekend with a clean bill of health and no suspension concerns, giving Oosting the luxury of a relatively full-strength squad at his disposal.
Heracles, on the other hand, will be without several players down the spine of the team, including the likes of Ajdin Hrustic (shin), Sava Cestic (ankle) and Nikolai Laursen (knee), who continue their spells on the sidelines.
German defender Jannes Wieckhoff missed the game against Go Ahead Eagles last time out through a slight injury and is also a major doubt for Sunday's matchup.
Eighteen-year-old striker Diego van Oorschot has been sidelined since breaking his leg back in October and the Dutchman is also out of contention for the Heraclieden.
FC Twente possible starting lineup:
Unnerstall; Sampsted, Bruns, Propper, Smal; Kjolo, Sadílek; Rots, Van Wolfswinkel, Vlap; Boadu
Heracles possible starting lineup:
Brouwer; Bakboord, Leerdam, Hoogma, Oppegard; Keersmaecker, Bruns; Limbombe, Bruijn, Hansson; Hornkamp
We say: FC Twente 2-1 Heracles
Buoyed by their victory against Go Ahead Eagles, Heracles will head into the weekend with renewed confidence as they look to steer clear of the danger zone. However, Oosting's men have been near-impenetrable at home this season and we see them coming away with a narrow victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
