FC Twente are set to host RKC Waalwijk on Friday night as they hope to continue their strong start to the 2020-21 campaign, having suffered just one defeat this season.
Meanwhile, the visitors currently find themselves in 15th place - just two points above the relegation playoffs, despite securing a promising 1-1 draw against SC Heerenveen on Sunday.
Match preview
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Ron Jans's men have picked up five wins out of a possible nine league games this season, putting them in fifth place as they head into Friday's fixture.
The Tukkers' most recent result was a 1-1 draw against a strong PSV Eindhoven side, with Danilo Pereira converting a penalty in the 68th minute as they continue to prove themselves as one of the more dominant teams outside the 'big three' this season.
Their home form in particular has been impressive, with Twente registering their last league defeat at De Grolsch Veste in February earlier this year - a 2-0 loss against Heerenveen prior to the cancellation of the 2019-20 season.
If they are able to pick up a win this weekend, they will take up third place temporarily - leapfrogging their previous opponents PSV and overtaking Feyenoord on better goal difference.
Waalwijk, on the other hand, have claimed just one win this season - picking up a total of six points from their opening nine games.
Despite their slow start, they will be happy to continue their time in the Eredivisie this campaign, with the team avoiding relegation last time round due to the cancellation of the previous season.
Fred Grim's men can also head into this game in high spirits, thanks to their recent draw against Heerenveen - picking up a vital point against De Superfriezen. Vitalie Damascan was able to score a late equaliser after Heerenveen's Sieben Dewaele was sent off in the latter stages of the first half.
An unlikely win for the visitors means they could jump to 11th place, with the bottom half of the table appearing particularly tight as they head into matchday 10.
These two teams previously met in December last year when Waalwijk gained a convincing 3-0 win over Twente, featuring a late sending-off for Calvin Verdonk.
FC Twente Eredivisie form: DWWLWD
FC Twente form (all competitions): DWWLLW
RKC Waalwijk Eredivisie form: DLLDDW
RKC Waalwijk form (all competitions): DLLLDD
Team News
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Queensy Menig and Godfried Roemeratoe are out for the upcoming game against Waalwijk, with both players currently undergoing their self-isolation period after testing positive for COVID-19.
Unfortunately for Twente fans, they will also be without Dario Dumic, with the centre-back currently nursing a hamstring problem, while Nathan Markelo remains doubtful.
Danilo is expected to make the starting XI yet again, after the Ajax loanee netted the only goal in their 1-1 draw against Heerenveen on Sunday. The 21-year-old has been in superb form this campaign, scoring nine times in nine league games.
For Waalwijk, the visitors will be without Sylla Sow, after the 24-year-old picked up an injury in their league match against AZ Alkmaar earlier this month.
Besides that, Grim should have a fully fit squad to face the Tukkers on Friday, with Damascan also expected to come back into the starting XI to replace Finn Stokkers, after the 21-year-old netted the late equaliser in the previous game.
FC Twente possible starting lineup:
Drommel; Oosterwolde, Pierie, Pleguezuelo, Ebuehi; Zerrouki, Brama; Dervisoglu, Bosch, Cerny; Danilo
RKC Waalwijk possible starting lineup:
Lamprou; Bakari, Meulensteen, Touba, Quasten; van der Venne, Tahiri, Anita; Ngonge, Damascan, John
We say: FC Twente 3-1 RKC Waalwijk
Despite Twente registering some excellent results lately, the upcoming hosts have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last five games and Waalwijk are expected to get at least one past their opponents. However, it will not be enough to secure any points from the game as the Tukkers should walk away from this fixture with a comfortable victory.
Top betting tip
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 FC Twente win with a probability of 59.5%. A draw had a probability of 21.3% and a win for RKC Waalwijk had a probability of 19.23%.
The most likely scoreline for a FC Twente win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.95%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.51%) and 1-0 (9.5%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.94%), while for a RKC Waalwijk win it was 1-2 (5.2%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 2.6% likelihood.
