Off the back of contrasting results last time out, Sparta Rotterdam and FC Volendam go head-to-head at the Sparta Stadion Het Kasteel on Saturday.
The home side head into this one fresh from a victory in their most recent outing, while the visitors look to bounce back from a humiliating defeat.
Match preview
Sparta Rotterdam finally got their league campaign up and running courtesy of a narrow 1-0 win against Go Ahead Eagles on Saturday.
Maurice Steijn's men opened the scoring in the 18th minute through Tobias Lauritsen and that was enough to secure all three points at De Adelaarshorst.
With four points from as many games so far, De Rood-Witte Gladiatoren currently sit 11th in the Eredivisie table, albeit only two points off the last European spot.
Awaiting them next is the task of facing off against an opposing outfit who have failed to win any of the most recent six meetings between the teams.
Having suffered understandable defeats to Ajax and AZ Alkmaar in their last two matches on home turf, Saturday's hosts will be keen to give their fans reason to cheer come the final whistle in this one.
FC Volendam were on the receiving end of a 7-1 thrashing against PSV Eindhoven when the teams faced off at the Philips Stadion on Wednesday.
Cody Gakpo led the onslaught against Wim Jonk's men with a superb hat-trick, while Xavi Simons grabbed two goals with a Johan Bakayoko strike and Brian Plat's own goal rounding off the scoring.
As a result, Het Nieuwe Oranje are 13th in the standings, level on points with this weekend's opponents ahead of the encounter in Rotterdam.
Currently on a run of one victory in their last 11 games on the road across all competitions, Saturday's visitors have some picking up to do away from home.
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Team News
Calvin Twigt and Oskar Buur are currently down with long-term knee problems and both players are yet to feature for FC Volendam since March.
The away side will also have to make do with the absence of Josh Flint after the 21-year-old picked up a muscle injury in pre-season.
Sparta Rotterdam's Koki Saito has missed each of the last two matches with a knock, which could see the Japanese sit out Saturday's contest as well.
Having opened his account for this weekend's hosts, Tobias Lauritsen will be aiming to pick up where he left off in front of goal last time out.
Sparta Rotterdam possible starting lineup:
Olij; Pinto, Auassar, Vriends, Sambo; Mijnans, De Guzman, Kitolano; Van Crooy, Lauritsen, Namli
FC Volendam possible starting lineup:
Stankovic; James, Benamar, Mirani, Plat, Van Mieghem; Murkin, Eiting, Ould-Chikh; Muhren, Veerman
We say: Sparta Rotterdam 1-0 FC Volendam
Buoyed by last week's victory, Sparta Rotterdam will head into this one with the wind in their sails, while Volendam have some soul-searching to do following a heavy defeat. We are tipping the home side to carry the day in this one, albeit by the narrowest of margins.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Adepoju Marvellous
