Two teams in search of three important points, albeit for different reasons, face off on Sunday as Cambuur entertain the challenge of Heerenveen at the Cambuur Stadion.
The hosts will be aiming to keep their pursuit of European football alive, while the away side set out to secure a crucial win in their relegation scrap.
Match preview
Heerenveen were beaten for the fourth league game running as they fell to a 2-1 defeat against Feyenoord in Sunday's meeting at the Abe Lenstra Stadion.
Kees van Wonderen's men found themselves two goals down to strikes from Lutsharel Geertruida and Santiago Gimenez, after which Syb Van Ottele pulled one back.
Having picked up just three points in 2023, De Superfriezen sit eighth in the Eredivisie table, six points behind FC Utrecht in the race for the final continental spot.
Lying in store next is the task of facing off against an opposing outfit who are without a victory in the most recent five editions of this fixture, losing four of them.
Off the back of ending a six-game winless run on the road in their last away outing, Sunday's visitors go in search of back to back wins on enemy territory for the first time since November.
Cambuur snapped a two-match losing streak courtesy of a goalless stalemate against NEC Nijmegen at Stadion de Goffert on Saturday evening.
Despite having less of the ball possession, Sjors Ultee's men managed to fashion more clear-cut chances and nearly came away with all three points from a tight affair.
As a result, the Yellow-Blues have moved up to bottom but one in the standings, four points adrift of safety after the first 21 rounds of matches.
Currently on a run of five straight home defeats by a combined score of 15-1, Sunday's hosts will be keen to give their fans reason to cheer come the sound of the final whistle here.
Team News
Maxim Gullit is still sidelined with a long-term knee injury, and the 21-year-old will not be expected to play any part for Cambuur here.
Robin Maulun and Jamie Jacobs are also unavailable for the home side as they continue to nurse thigh and hamstring injuries respectively.
Marco Tol was hauled off with an injury scare against NEC last time out, making the Dutchman's involvement on Sunday currently hanging in the balance.
Andries Noppert is set to miss a fifth straight game through a hip problem, while Pelle van Amersfoort remains unavailable due to a muscle injury.
Sven van Beek tore his Achilles tendon in his first outing of 2023 back in January, and the defender is now facing a long spell out of action.
Cambuur possible starting lineup:
Ruiter; Bangura, Smand, Bergsma, Schmidt; Van Kaam, Paulissen, Breij; Foor, Johnsen, Van der Water
Heerenveen possible starting lineup:
Mous; Kohlert, Bochniewicz, Van Ottele, Van Ewijk; Colassin, Tahiri, Haye, Olsson; Van Hooijdonk, Nunnely
We say: Cambuur 0-1 Heerenveen
Heerenveen have dominated this fixture to a large extent, and the odds are firmly in their favour to emerge victorious once again. While we expect Cambuur to put up a decent fight, we fancy the visitors to emerge triumphant come the sound of the full-time whistle.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
