Looking to continue their impressive home form at the start of the 2023-24 campaign, Go Ahead Eagles will welcome Sparta Rotterdam to De Adelaarshorst on Sunday afternoon as club football resumes following the international break.
All four of the Eagles' maximums have arrived in front of their home faithful so far this term, while Sparta know a win would be enough to leapfrog the hosts into the top six.
Match preview
After a tricky pair of away matches at league leaders PSV Eindhoven and Dutch champions Feyenoord - which ended in 3-0 and 3-1 defeats respectively - Go Ahead Eagles got back to winning ways prior to the international pause by defeating newly-promoted Heracles at De Adelaarshorst in Deventer.
The hosts were in complete control of the contest within 16 minutes thanks to goals from Willum Willumsson and first-time scorer Victor Edvardsen, before Sylla Sow and Bas Kuipers got their names on the scoresheet after the half-time break, with the former netting his fifth strike off the bench already this campaign.
The Eagles' eagerness to secure the future of one of their young players was on display during the two-week hiatus from club football, as midfielder Evert Linthorst signed fresh terms which will extend his stay in Deventer until the summer of 2025, with the 23-year-old starting all eight of his side's league matches so far.
Rene Hake also committed his long-term future to Go Ahead earlier in the year, and the former FC Utrecht boss has helped his men make De Adelaarshorst a fortress, collecting 12 points from a possible 12 at home in 2023-24, netting 14 goals in the process in victories over Volendam, Heerenveen, Fortuna Sittard and most recently Heracles.
Sunday's hosts are currently sitting pretty in sixth place in the Eredivisie standings after earning 13 points from their opening eight contests, and the Eagles could go ahead of fifth-placed SBV Excelsior with a positive result this weekend.
Sparta Rotterdam's promising start to the term tailed off somewhat before the October internationals after losing three of their last four Eredivisie fixtures, and with matches against AZ Alkmaar and PSV were always set to be an uphill task, the defeat to local rivals Excelsior on October 1 will hurt the most.
Jonathan de Guzman had put Sparta into the lead after 60 minutes of the derby match, but a brilliant solo goal from Arthur Zagre and a 94th-minute winner from Tottenham Hotspur loanee Troy Parrott meant the visitors went away from the Van Donge & De Roo Stadion empty-handed.
Following a sixth-placed finish in the 2022-23 term - their best since returning from the second tier in 2019 - there is considerable pressure on Jeroen Rijsdijk to guide his side towards European qualification this time around, although the Rotterdam-based club are already nine points behind fourth-placed Feyenoord.
A post-season run in the Europa Conference League playoffs appears to be Sparta's most likely route onto the continental stage, and with Vito van Crooij moving to the Saudi Pro League in the summer, towering forward Tobias Lauritsen will shoulder more of the goalscoring responsibility.
Historically, Sunday's visitors have enjoyed the majority of their clashes against Go Ahead Eagles, and Sparta have the opportunity to extend their unbeaten run against the Deventer-based club to four matches with a positive result at De Adelaarshorst on Sunday afternoon as Rijsdijk's charges aim to realise their ambitions.
Team News
Following their biggest success of the term last time out against Heracles, Go Ahead Eagles are expected to name an unchanged side from the one which dismantled the newly-promoted team, meaning Bobby Adekanye and Oliver Edvardsen will retain their places on the flanks.
After shipping six goals in back-to-back away defeats prior to that home success, the likes of Kuipers and Gerrit Nauber produced resolute displays to help Jeffrey De Lange to his second clean sheet of the term.
Hake's selection of his defence is restricted slightly by the continued absence of centre-back Joris Kramer, who has not featured for the Eagles since the 3-0 win over Fortuna Sittard on September 22.
Despite conceding four goals in the defeat at home to PSV last time out, Sparta are expected to field the same back four, meaning captain Bart Vriends will partner Tijs Velthuis at the heart of the visitors' defence.
Left-back Djevencio van der Kust made the net ripple for Suriname during the international break, and the 22-year-old will be looking to score his first goal in club football since securing a switch from Houston Dynamo in the summer.
Koki Saito was showing real signs of promise as a left-winger before suffering a knock in the victory over Vitesse in September, with the Japanese youngster a doubt for Sunday's clash.
Go Ahead Eagles possible starting lineup:
De Lange; Deijl, Amofa, Nauber, Kuipers; Linthorst, Rommens; Adekanye, Willumsson, O Edvardsen; V Edvardsen
Sparta Rotterdam possible starting lineup:
Olij; Bakari, Vriends, Velthuis, Van der Kust; Kitolano, Verschueren, De Guzman; Clement, Neghli, Lauritsen
We say: Go Ahead Eagles 1-1 Sparta Rotterdam
After winning all four of their home matches in the Eredivisie so far, Go Ahead will be confident of extending their unbeaten run at De Adelaarshorst to over 11 matches with a positive result on Sunday.
Sparta have struggled against some of the division's high-flyers this term, but we believe that Rijsdijk's side will have enough attacking threat to earn a point in Deventer.
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