Go Ahead Eagles and RKC Waalwijk go head-to-head at the Mandemakers Stadion on Saturday in round seven of the 2021-22 Eredivisie season.
The teams head into the contest having lost their last two matches apiece and will both be looking to avoid a third consecutive defeat.
Match preview
Waalwijk's wait for a second victory of the campaign goes on as they were narrowly beaten 1-0 by Heracles Almelo at the Erve Asito on Sunday.
Following a relatively uneventful opening period, the match was decided just before the hour mark when Delano Burgzorg opened the scoring to hand his side all three points.
Outside the bottom three only on goal difference, Joseph Oosting's men are in need of a pick-me-up with no wins from their subsequent six games after an opening-day triumph over AZ Alkmaar.
Awaiting them next is a crucial meeting against an opposing side who come out on top in just one of the last seven meetings between the teams.
Saturday's hosts were held to a draw by their visitors in a friendly back in July, but this weekend's encounter is the first competitive game involving the sides since 2019.
Go Ahead Eagles lost away from home for the third time this term following a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of AZ when the sides clashed on Sunday.
Jesper Karlsson scored twice either side of a Dani De Wit strike to put Kees Van Wonderen's men on course for another disappointing outing, before late goals from Zakaria Aboukhlal and Tijjani Reijnders completed the rout.
The pride of the IJssel Kowet remain a point above the relegation zone having picked up just two wins from seven matches all-season long.
With the second-worst defensive record so far, Saturday's visitors will need to tighten up at the back if results are to get better in the coming weeks.
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Team News
Scottish midfielder Frank Ross still awaits his first outing of the new campaign due to a knee injury which he picked up back in January.
Thirty-seven-year-old forward Jacob Mulenga is currently sidelined with a muscle injury and is set to sit out a third consecutive match.
Michiel Kramer was hauled off with a minor injury 52 minutes into his side's last outing, making him a doubt for this weekend's contest.
Portuguese goalkeeper Joel Pereira will play no part for the visitors due to a hernia problem, while David Min misses out through a knee injury.
RKC Waalwijk possible starting lineup:
Vaessen; Touba, Meulensteen, Gaari, Buttner; Anita, Azhil, Bel Hassani; Odgaard, Bakari, Kramer
Go Ahead Eagles possible starting lineup:
Hahn; Kuipers, Kramer, Nauber, Lucassen; Brouwers, Botos, Rommens; Cordoba, Oratmangoen, Cardona
We say: RKC Waalwijk 2-1 Go Ahead Eagles
A clash between two struggling teams always represents a perfect opportunity for either of them to get back on track by claiming all three points. We are backing the home team to emerge victorious in this one at the end of 90 minutes.
Top 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 Go Ahead Eagles win with a probability of 41.11%. A win for RKC Waalwijk had a probability of 33.54% and a draw had a probability of 25.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Go Ahead Eagles win was 0-1 with a probability of 9.21%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.79%) and 0-2 (6.76%). The likeliest RKC Waalwijk win was 1-0 (8.17%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.98%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with an 12% likelihood.
