Round 22 of the 2023-24 Eredivisie season sees FC Twente and FC Utrecht face off against each other at De Grolsch Veste on Sunday afternoon.
Both sides have come out on top in their last two matches heading into this weekend's meeting, which promises to be a keenly-contested affair.
Match preview
Twente ran out emphatic winners against SBV Excelsior thanks to a routine 3-0 victory in Saturday's encounter at Van Donge & De Roo Stadion.
Joseph Oosting's men made a fast start to the contest and raced to a three-goal lead thanks to Daan Rots's opener and a Ricky van Wolfswinkel brace.
Consequently, the Tukkers remain third in the Eredivisie table, five points behind Feyenoord and a further 10 adrift of leaders PSV Eindhoven.
Coming up next is the challenge of an opposing outfit with little to choose between the sides over the most recent six meetings, which have yielded two wins apiece and two stalemates.
Having scored 11 times across their last four matches on home turf, Sunday's hosts will be looking to put on another attacking masterclass in front of their fans.
Utrecht recorded arguably their most impressive result of the campaign as they claimed a 4-0 win over Fortuna Sittard at Stadion Galgenwaard on Sunday.
Two goals from Taylor Booth either side of Othman Boussaid's strike put Ron Jans's men in pole position, after which Sam Lammers sealed the deal 12 minutes from time.
With 26 points picked up from 21 matches, De Domstedelingen sit ninth in the standings, one point behind PEC Zwolle in the race for the final European place.
Unbeaten in five of their last six outings on the road, Sunday's visitors have established themselves as a tough nut to crack away from home of late.
Team News
Kevin Gadellaa is unavailable for Utrecht through a damaged knee, while goalkeeper Vasilios Barkas continues to battle with a muscle injury.
Ole ter Haar Romeny is set to sit out a second straight game due to a finger problem and is joined on the treatment table by Anthony Descotte and Bart Ramselaar.
Isac Lidberg remains without an appearance since early December due to a calf problem, but the Swede is drawing increasingly closer to a comeback.
Ricky van Wolfswinkel will be expected to retain his place in Twente's XI having found the back of the net for a second successive start last time out.
Sem Steijn was on target for the hosts in the reverse meeting between Sunday's opponents, and the 22-year-old will be looking to deliver the goods once again.
FC Twente possible starting lineup:
Unnerstall; Smal, Propper, Hilgers, Brenet; Sadilek, Eiting; Vlap, Steijn, Rots; Van Wolfswinkel
FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:
Branderhorst; Ter Avest, Van der Hoorn, Viergever, El Karouani; Flamingo, Iqbal; Booth, Toornstra, Boussaid; Lammers
We say: FC Twente 3-1 FC Utrecht
Twente have been near-perfect on home turf this term and are huge favourites to get the job done in this one. We can see the hosts cruising to a relatively comfortable win in the end.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Adepoju Marvellous
