Two teams in dire need of a victory go head to head in round 24 of the 2023-24 Eredivisie season as Fortuna Sittard welcome SBV Excelsior to the Fortuna Sittard Stadion on Sunday.
This weekend's hosts have been beaten in four of their last five matches, while the visitors are currently on a run of four consecutive defeats.
Match preview
Fortuna Sittard were on the receiving end of a narrow 3-2 defeat against Den Bosch when the teams faced off in Tuesday's friendly matchup.
Danny Buijs's men went into the interval with a 2-1 lead thanks to a Mouhamed Belkheir double either side of Vieri Kotzebue's strike, after which Yuya Ikeshita netted a second-half double to turn the game on its head.
Prior to that, the Fortunezen claimed a 1-0 victory over RKC Waalwijk at the Mandemakers Stadion on Saturday and have moved up into 12th place in the Eredivisie table as a result.
Awaiting them next is the challenge of an opposing outfit who have proven themselves to be a tough nut to crack, with the last seven meetings yielding two wins apiece and three draws.
Winless in four straight home matches since the turn of the year, Sunday's hosts will be keen to get back to winning ways in front of their fans.
SBV Excelsior came away empty-handed from their clash against Vitesse at Van Donge & De Ro Stadion, which ended in a 2-1 defeat on Sunday afternoon.
Marinus Dijkhuizen's men took the lead just after half time through Lance Duijvestijn before goals from Paxten Aaronson and Nicolas Isimat-Mirin turned the contest around.
With 21 points picked up from 23 matches so far, De Roodzwarten sit 15th in the standings, just three points clear of the relegation zone.
Having let in nine goals across their last three away matches, Sunday's visitors will need to keep things tight at the back to stand any chance of avoiding defeat here.
Team News
Raphael Eyongo remains unavailable for Excelsior as he continues to battle with an ankle injury, while Kik Pierie misses out through a foot problem.
The home side will also be without the services of midfielder Lennard Hartjes who has featured just once this term due to a long-term knee injury.
Fortuna's Loreintz Rosier is set to sit out a fifth game on the bounce due to a muscle injury, and the Frenchman is joined on the sidelines by Marko Lazetic.
Twenty-five-year-old Mouhamed Belkheir will be pushing for a first competitive start of 2024 off the back of his two-goal haul in midweek.
Fortuna Sittard possible starting lineup:
Verrips; Dijks, Siovas, Guth, Pinto; Cordoba, Duarte, Ferati, Halilovic; Sierhuis, Peterson
SBV Excelsior possible starting lineup:
Van Gassel; Horemans, Widell, El Yaakoubi, Zagre; Duijvestijn, Baas, Sandra, Driouech; Parrott, Goudmijn
We say: Fortuna Sittard 2-1 SBV Excelsior
Clean sheets have been few and far between for both teams, so we expect an entertaining affair here with the home side just about coming out on top in the end.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
