Fortuna Sittard will be looking to secure their first win of the calendar year when they host Heerenveen at Fortuna Sittard Stadion on Wednesday night in the Eredivisie.
Sittard are sliding down the league standings after failing to win any of their three matches since returning from the World Cup break, whereas Heerenveen are on the coattails of the European places following victory last week.
Match preview
Fortuna look set for another season of relegation worries as the Eredivisie picks up pace, although early-season form suggested something more pleasant for Julio Velazquez's men this campaign.
A late Remy Vita goal at GelreDome in October to beat Vitesse extended Sittard's winning run at the time to three games, a result which propelled the club up the Eredivisie standings and made fans wonder if they could raise their ambitions for the campaign.
Now nearing the end of January, Fortuna have tasted victory just twice in nine league matches since that success in Arnhem and are once again fretting about the possibility of relegation from the top flight.
Velazquez's side have certainly not had a favourable trio of fixtures on their return after the month-long break - facing both PSV Eindhoven and AZ Alkmaar over the past fortnight - but nevertheless a single point from that set of matches means they are only four points above FC Emmen in the relegation playoff position.
Turkish striker Burak Yilmaz has netted in successive games for Fortuna and will be an important figure in the club's attempts to beat the drop this season, with the 37-year-old scoring six times in 14 Eredivisie starts so far this season.
Heerenveen have enjoyed a productive start to club matters following the World Cup break over November and December, maintaining their seventh-placed standing in the Eredivisie while also securing their passage into the third round of the KNVB-Beker.
A brace from Amin Sarr and a late Pelle van Amersfoort strike earned Kees van Wonderen's side a 3-1 victory over Groningen last time out - their first league win of the calendar year and a result which extended their lead over the middle pack in the division to five points.
Now seventh having collected 27 points from 17 matches, Heerenveen look set to battle Utrecht for a place in the Europa Conference League playoff positions, a fight that will make a welcome change from recent times where mid-table mediocrity has become the norm.
De Superfriezen have been solid travellers so far this season, earning 13 points from eight outings and conceding just seven times in the process, fewer than any other side in the Eredivisie so far.
Team News
Fortuna will be without midfielder Dogan Erdogan for a second consecutive game as the 26-year-old continues to serve his two-match suspension for a red card picked up in the draw with PSV, meaning Arianit Ferati and Deroy Duarte are set to be the defensive-midfield duo once again.
Left-back Ximo Navarro conceded an own goal in the defeat to AZ Alkmaar and was replaced by Englishman George Cox early in the second half, with the 25-year-old pushing to replicate his run in the XI before the World Cup break.
Heerenveen were dealt a massive blow in the stalemate with Waalwijk at the start of January after defender Sven van Beek suffered an Achilles tendon injury in the late stages of the match, an issue that is set to keep him sidelined until March.
Joost van Aken has been the man to partner Pawel Bochniewicz in the Heerenveen defence since that injury to Van Beek, with the 28-year-old set for his first extensive period in the XI since joining from Zulte Waregem in February of last year.
Fortuna Sittard possible starting lineup:
Pandur; Pinto, Radic, Guth, Cox; Cordoba, Ferati, Duarte, Vita, Noslin; Yilmaz
Heerenveen possible starting lineup:
Noppert; Van Ewijk, Bochniewicz, Van Aken, Kohlert; Haye, Tahiri, Olsson, Van Amersfoort, Colassin; Sarr
We say: Fortuna Sittard 1-2 Heerenveen
Fortuna need a win to ease their relegation fears this season but now come up against a Heerenveen side who have proven to be very difficult customers on the road so far this campaign.
De Superfriezen face two struggling sides in Fortuna and Vitesse before a crucial clash with Utrecht at the start of February, and we suspect Van Wonderen's men will be confident of collecting maximum points from their next pair of fixtures.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
