Aiming to end their winless start to the Eredivisie season, Almere City will welcome Willem II to Yanmar Stadion on Friday.
The hosts currently sit in the relegation zone having only earned two points from their first seven outings, while their visitors have dropped to 11th spot following back-to-back defeats.
Match preview
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Almere City return to action at Yanmar Stadion on Friday aiming to bounce back from a dismal start to their Eredivisie campaign, having stayed up for a second straight top-flight term with a 13th-placed finish last time around.
Aiming to build on that survival and kick on, De Zwarte Schapen have been particularly slow off the mark, failing to win any of their first seven outings and only collecting two points along the way.
Hedwiges Maduro's side have struggled at both ends of the pitch, with only basement team RKC Waalwijk having conceded more than the 18 goals they have shipped, while their tally of two goals is the fewest in the division.
After picking up their two points consecutively in draws either side of the September international break, De Zwarte Schapen now head into Friday's meeting on the back of another pair of defeats, firstly suffering a 5-0 beating at home to Twente before a James Lawrence own goal made the only difference in a trip to fellow strugglers PEC Zwolle on Sunday.
Having now already fallen four points adrift of the relegation playoff place and five behind 15th spot at this early stage of the Eredivisie campaign, Almere City will be desperate to kickstart their campaign with a first victory at the eighth time of asking on Friday.
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Their visitors, meanwhile, head into Friday's trip aiming to bounce back from consecutive defeats of their own after making a pleasing start to life back in the Eredivisie at the beginning of the campaign.
Willem II marked their return to the Dutch top flight at the second time of asking last time around by winning the Eerste Divisie, and they headed into the first international break on five points from their first four outings.
Peter Maes's side would then mark their return to action in mid-September with a victory in dominant fashion, beating RKC Waalwijk 3-0 thanks to first-half goals from Kyan Vaesen and Ringo Meerveld and a Roshon van Eijma own goal, only to fall just short in an eventual 3-2 defeat away at Utrecht in the following contest, despite twice drawing level through Noah Ohio.
Another tough test followed on Saturday as defending champions and early leaders PSV Eindhoven visited the Koning Willem II Stadion, and the Tricolores were unable to end their visitors' perfect start to the league season, instead succumbing to a 2-0 loss as Ricardo Pepi made the difference with a second-half brace.
Still sitting 11th in the Eredivisie with eight points on the board from a tricky opening run, Willem II will now bid to get back to winning ways in Friday's trip and return to the top half of the Dutch top flight.
Team News
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Hedwiges Maduro may opt to make some changes to his Almere City side on Friday to inspire a change in fortunes, with Jochem Ritmeester van de Kamp and Alex Carbonell both likely to come into the midfield from the outset.
Thomas Robinet, who is yet to find the net this season, should again be trusted in attack, having notched up a team-high tally of 12 goals last time around, while Kornelius Hansen, who managed nine of his own, could keep his place on the wing.
After Sunday's narrow defeat, Maduro may stick with the pairing of Ricardo Visus and James Lawrence at the heart of the back four, although Joey Jacobs and Theo Barbet will both compete to come into the defence from the outset.
Willem II are set to remain without Erik Schouten, Niels van Berkel and Dani Mathieu, all of whom missed last week's defeat to PSV Eindhoven due to injuries.
Kyan Vaesen and Cisse Sandra should continue their attacking partnership, having each netted three Eredivisie goals this term following loan arrivals from Westerlo and Club Brugge respectively.
Jeremy Bokila will hope to earn a first start of the season at the top end of the pitch, having helped to fire them to promotion with 11 goals last time around, but he may again have to settle for a substitute appearance with Runar Thor Sigurgeirsson and Nick Doodeman preferred in the wide areas.
Almere City possible starting lineup:
Bakker; Akujobi, Lawrence, Jacobs, Zagaritis; Ritmeester van de Kamp, Carbonell; Hansen, Robinet, Kadile; Guillaume
Willem II possible starting lineup:
Didillon-Hodl; Tirpan, Behounek, Jago; Doodeman, Bosch, Lambert, Meerveld, Sigurgeirsson; Vaesen, Sandra
We say: Almere City 0-2 Willem II
Willem II's recent defeats can be attributed to a tough run of fixtures in a positive start to the campaign, while their hosts are devoid of any confidence or momentum having failed to get going thus far.
With Almere City struggling at both ends of the pitch, we expect another defeat for Hedwiges Maduro's side.
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Sam Varley
