Looking to provide a significant boost to their chances of avoiding relegation this season, FC Volendam will welcome Heerenveen to Kras Stadion on Sunday night for an Eredivisie clash.
De Palingboeren earned a point against fellow strugglers Vitesse last time out, while De Superfriezen lost on home soil to Go Ahead Eagles.
Match preview
Ending their worrying three-game losing run in the Eredivisie, Volendam travelled to basement dwellers Vitesse last Sunday when the division's bottom-two sides were pitted against each other, and in the end the outfits could not be separated at GelreDome in Arnhem following first-half goalscoring action.
The visitors had a perfect beginning to the contest as Bilal Ould-Chikh put De Palingboeren ahead after just three minutes from the first-half whistle, but the Arnhem-based club bounced back quickly, with Mica Pinto netting his maiden league goal of the term to force a share of the points.
After failing to taste victory in an Eredivisie since the reverse fixture against Heerenveen on December 16, Regilio Simons's side remain imbedded in the bottom three of the top-flight standings with 13 points from 22 matches, sitting eight points adrift of 15th-placed SBV Excelsior.
A real issue for De Palingboeren this campaign has been registering enough goals in front of their home faithful at Kras Stadion, with Sunday's visitors managing only nine goals in 10 home league contests so far in 2023-24 - a record that is only better than bottom side Vitesse.
Heerenveen's three-match unbeaten run in the Eredivisie came to an abrupt end last Saturday evening, when Go Ahead Eagles rocked up at Abe Lenstra Stadion and eventually escaped with maximum points, although it was not a straightforward procedure for Rene Hake's Europe chasers.
Following a goalless first period, the visitors finally breached the net of Mickey van der Hart in the 56th minute courtesy of a strike from 20-year-old Jakob Breum, before six-goal striker Victor Edvardsen doubled his side's advantage in added-on time to make sure of the points.
Having won just a single match during their last eight Eredivisie clashes, Kees van Wonderen's charges have dropped down to 12th in the top-flight standings after threatening to challenge for Europa Conference League football in the early stages of the campaign, now lying four points behind eighth-placed Sparta Rotterdam.
Heerenveen would be in a serious battle for their first-tier status if the league was purely decided on away record, with De Superfriezen collecting just eight points in 11 matches away from Abe Lenstra Stadion and conceding 28 goals in the process - only Volendam and Vitesse have allowed in more strikes on their respective travels.
Team News
Volendam remain without the services of Portuguese striker Vivaldo, with the 19-year-old suffering a serious thigh injury at the start of December.
The hosts also have a host of doubts amongst their ranks ahead of Sunday's showdown, including youngsters Deron Payne and Brazilian Diego Gustavo.
Patrik Walemark stint at Heerenveen on loan from champions Feyenoord has been disrupted by injury this month, with the Swede expected back in action during March.
Sunday's visitors are also without one of their key attacking men, with Ion Nicolaescu yet to feature since just before Christmas due to a muscular issue.
FC Volendam possible starting lineup:
Backhaus; Plat, Mirani, Flint; Buur, De Haan, Maulun, Booth, Benamar; Muhren, Ould-Chikh
Heerenveen possible starting lineup:
Van der Hart; Braude, Van Beek, Bochniewicz, Kohlert; Haye, Olsson, Nunnely, Brouwers, Sahraoui; Van Amersfoort
We say: FC Volendam 1-3 Heerenveen
Volendam have conceded 10 goals during their last three Eredivisie matches, so Heerenveen will be looking to take advantage of any defensive frailties from the hosts.
De Superfriezen have been competitive in recent matches against the likes of Ajax and AZ Alkmaar, so the visitors should be confident of taking maximum points on Sunday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
