Seeking to record their third win on the bounce in the Eredivisie, FC Twente play host to third-placed Feyenoord on Sunday afternoon.
Ron Jans's side prevailed 1-0 at Sparta Rotterdam last time out, whereas the visitors played out a 2-2 draw with Slavia Prague in the Europa Conference League.
Match preview
© Reuters
Twente were certainly made to work for their victory at Sparta Rotterdam on November 20, but in the end, Ricky van Wolfswinkel's penalty eight minutes from time was enough to separate the two sides as Jans's men claimed their second win on the bounce.
A dismal winless streak in October threatened to hamper Twente's European aspirations once again, but having now posted back-to-back 1-0 successes over Heracles and now Sparta Rotterdam, the hosts are only looking up.
Jans's side enter the weekend sixth in the standings before the first ball is kicked in gameweek 14 - seven points off the top three - but Cambuur and NEC are breathing down their necks and will endeavour to push Twente out of the top seven should their form take another dip.
Twente have been inconsistent at home this term to say the least - taking 11 points from 18 on offer at De Grolsch Veste - but they have scored in every game on familiar territory this season and can harbour aspirations of springing a surprise this weekend against a fatigued Feyenoord.
© Reuters
Advancing to the knockout stages of Europe's third-tier competition may lead to muted celebrations in some fanbases, but Feyenoord can rejoice in finishing at the top of the pile in their Conference League group with a 2-2 draw at Slavia Prague.
After losing top scorer Bryan Linssen to injury and prolific playmaker Guus Til to a red card, the writing was seemingly on the wall for Feyenoord, but substitute striker Cyriel Dessers bagged a brace - his second coming in the third minute of second-half injury time - to secure the unlikeliest of points.
Feyenoord's six-game winning run across all tournaments may have come to an end in the Czech Republic, but rescuing a draw in such dramatic fashion was remarkable, and Arne Slot's side most recently saw off PEC Zwolle 4-0 in the top flight.
This weekend's visitors have won their last four in the Eredivisie - keeping clean sheets in each of their last three - and as a result they find themselves third in the table and only two points adrift of joint-leaders Ajax and PSV Eindhoven.
A title challenge could very well be on the cards for Slot's men this term, but they were held to a pair of draws by Twente last term, most recently sharing the spoils in a 2-2 stalemate at De Grolsch Veste back in February.
- D
- D
- L
- L
- W
- W
- D
- L
- W
- L
- W
- W
- L
- D
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Twente lost Dimitrios Limnios to injury in the dying embers of the Sparta Rotterdam win, but the Greek attacker is not thought to be nursing any serious and should be fine for the weekend.
Luca Everink, Jody Lukoki, Vaclav Kerney and Ajax loanee Kik Pierie make up a quartet of absentees for the hosts, who ought to stick with the winning formula from last weekend's triumph.
Van Wolfswinkel's winner in that game was his fifth strike of the season, and the 32-year-old will likely be partnered up top by Limnios and Daan Rots once again.
Meanwhile, Feyenoord's Til is fine to take part in this fixture despite seeing red in the Conference League, and Linssen is now a doubt following his early withdrawal in that fixture.
However, two-goal hero Dessers has put his name in the hat for a start regardless, and Ofir Marciano should continue in goal after Justin Bijlow's positive coronavirus test.
Arsenal loanee Reiss Nelson continues to struggle for minutes in the Netherlands, and the attacker is set to be named on the bench alongside Alireza Jahanbakhsh.
FC Twente possible starting lineup:
Unnerstall; Troupee, Hilgers, Propper, Oosterwolde; Sadilek, Brama, Zerrouki; Rots, Van Wolfswinkel, Limnios
Feyenoord possible starting lineup:
Marciano; Pedersen, Geertruida, Trauner, Malacia, Kokcu, Aursnes; Toornstra, Til, Sinisterra; Dessers
We say: FC Twente 1-2 Feyenoord
Slot is likely to be sweating over the fitness of Linssen until just before the first ball is kicked, but with Dessers and Til still offering plenty of threat up top, Feyenoord's top-flight winning streak should be extended here.
Twente need no lessons in putting the ball in the back of the net at home, but the extra threat posed by the visiting attacking line will likely decide the contest.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Feyenoord win with a probability of 51.05%. A win for FC Twente had a probability of 25.15% and a draw had a probability of 23.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Feyenoord win was 0-1 with a probability of 9.86%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.66%) and 0-2 (8.49%). The likeliest FC Twente win was 1-0 (6.51%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.22%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 5.7% likelihood.
