Sparta Rotterdam play host to Almere City on Sunday afternoon looking for the victory that will ensure that they remain in the top six of the Eredivisie standings.
Meanwhile, Almere - one of the minnows of the division - are bidding to extend their recent undefeated streak to five matches.
Match preview
Having narrowly missed out on Europa Conference football last season, Sparta Rotterdam supporters would have been optimistic of another improved campaign this time around.
As it stands, that is how it has proven, a total of 15 points coming from 10 games, despite a period of three defeats in four outings before the October international break.
Losing 4-0 at home to PSV Eindhoven threatened to derail Sparta's campaign, yet Jeroen Rijsdijk's side have since responded with four points and two successive clean sheets.
After stopping the rot with a goalless draw at Go Ahead Eagles, who sit in fifth position, Sparta came through by a 2-0 scoreline against RKC Waalwijk.
Still eight points adrift of the top four, there is little prospect of challenging for those positions, yet Rijsdijk will want to keep collecting points ahead of a potential charge from Ajax later in the season.
From the perspective of Almere City, simply surviving in the Eredivisie is their target for the season after earning promotion from the second tier in 2022-23.
Losing five of their opening six games made their hopes look bleak, but Alex Pastoor's side have since responded with a four-game unbeaten run.
Successive wins were recorded against FC Utrecht and RKC Waalwijk to move out of the bottom two, before they complemented that revival with draws against NEC Nijmegen and Go Ahead Eagles respectively.
Just three points separate 10th and bottom spot in the table, with Almere's recent resurgence only enough to put them in 14th place at this stage ahead of meetings with Sparta and Ajax.
Team News
Sparta will be forced into at least one alteration with Arno Verschueren serving a suspension courtesy of his red card against RKC Waalwijk.
That may lead to Pelle Clement being switched into a central creative role and Augustin Anello being recalled on the left flank.
Meanwhile, Pastoor may see little reason to tinker with his Almere starting lineup from the stalemate with Go Ahead Eagles.
Although Kornelius Hansen was introduced as a half-time substitute in that fixture, he is yet to make a start in the Eredivisie this season and could remain among the replacements.
If a change is made, Lance Duijvestijn is most likely to be recalled, with the midfielder having featured in all 10 of Almere's top-flight games in 2023-24.
Sparta Rotterdam possible starting lineup:
Olij; Bakari, Vriends, Velthuis, Kust; De Guzman, Kitolano; Neghli, Clement, Anello; Lauritsen
Almere City possible starting lineup:
Bakker; Kamp, Jacobs, Van Bruggen, Soh, Royo; Koopmeiners, Robinet, Resink; Van La Parra, Kitala
We say: Sparta Rotterdam 2-0 Almere City
On the back of holding fifth-placed Go Ahead Eagles, Almere have nothing to fear ahead of this encounter. However, we are backing Sparta to come through with a professional win, one which could move them into fifth position.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Darren Plant
