Currently separated by just a point, Heerenveen and RKC Waalwijk face off against each other at the Abe Lenstra Stadion on Saturday evening.
Both sides emerged triumphant in their respective last outings, and they will now be looking to make it back-to-back victories this weekend.
Match preview
Heerenveen came out on top away from home for the second game running courtesy of a 2-1 win over SC Cambuur at the Cambuur Stadion on Sunday.
Kees van Wonderen's men trailed to Bjorn Johnsen's early goal but managed to draw level through Osame Sahraoui, after which Milan van Ewijk completed the turnaround just shy of the midway point in the second half.
As a result, De Superfriezen are now just three points shy of seventh-placed FC Utrecht in the Eredivisie table, which gives their hopes of continental football a huge boost.
Next up is the challenge of an opposing outfit who are yet to come out on top in any of the last nine editions of this fixture dating back to 2013.
Ahead of a daunting KNVB Beker assignment against Feyenoord four days later, Saturday's hosts will be looking to put on a show in front of their fans.
Waalwijk snapped a two-game winless streak by comprehensively beating Fortuna Sittard 3-1 in Friday's encounter at the Mandemakers Stadion.
Joseph Oosting's men fell behind to Burak Yilmaz's opener four minutes into the second period before goals from Michiel Kramer, Julen Lobete and Florian Jozefzoon turned the match on its head.
With 29 points amassed from 22 league matches this term, RKC currently sit ninth in the standings and will leapfrog their next opponents should they secure all three points this weekend.
Having failed to win any of their last 10 away games leading up to Saturday's contest, the visitors certainly need to get their act together away from home to avoid missing out on a European spot.
Team News
Andries Noppert is set to miss a sixth straight game through a hip problem, while Sven van Beek remains out having torn his Achilles tendon in his first outing of the year.
Pelle van Amersfoort made his return to action from a muscle injury last time out and he could get the nod to feature right from the off here.
RKC's Julen Lobete will also be pushing for a start on Saturday after the 22-year-old came off the bench to good effect against Fortuna Sittard.
Meanwhile, Mika Biereth is still sidelined with a knee problem, which has seen the Danish striker take to the field just three times in 2023.
Heerenveen possible starting lineup:
Mous; Kohlert, Bochniewicz, Van Ottele, Van Ewijk; Colassin, Tahiri, Haye, Olsson; Van Hooijdonk, Nunnely
RKC Waalwijk possible starting lineup:
Vaessen; Gaari, Adewoye, Van den Buijs; Lelieveld, Bel Hassani, Anita, Clement, Lutonda; Seuntjens, Kramer
We say: Heerenveen 2-1 RKC Waalwijk
Judging by the league table, a close encounter is on the cards, and we expect the clash to pan out that way. Nonetheless, we are tipping Heerenveen to narrowly come out on top at the end of the 90 minutes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Adepoju Marvellous
