High-flying Groningen play host to bottom-placed PEC Zwolle at the Euroborg on Friday in round 15 of the 2021-22 Eredivisie season.
The home side are looking to make it three wins on the bounce, while the away side are seeking to avoid an eighth consecutive league defeat on the road this term.
Match preview
Groningen claimed a second straight Eredivisie victory following a comprehensive 4-1 demolition of Fortuna Sittard on Saturday.
Danny Builjs's men fell behind to a Mats Seuntjens strike in the 24th minute before hitting back through Cyril Ngonge, Daleho Irandust, Jorgen Strand Larsen and an own goal from George Cox.
Having picked up seven of the last nine points available, the Pride of the North have moved up to 13th place on the log, seven points clear of danger and just two off the top half.
Awaiting them next is the challenge of an opposing side against whom they have a mixed record, winning and losing eight games apiece in the last 16 meetings between the teams.
Friday's hosts, who have scored the joint second-fewest goals on home turf, will need to improve in that department if they are to add to their one home triumph so far.
PEC Zwolle ended a three-game losing streak with a 0-0 stalemate versus RKC Waalwijk at the Mac3Park Stadion on Saturday.
In a game where clear-cut chances were few and far between, neither team was able to come up with the decisive moment needed to secure all three points.
The Blauwvingers remain rooted to the bottom of the standings and are now seven points adrift of safety after the first 14 rounds of matches.
Friday's visitors, who are the only side yet to record a point away from home in the entire division this term, will be looking to put an end to this barren run.
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Team News
Damil Dankerlui and Radinio Balker both miss out through injury, while Michael de Leeuw is not expected to play due to illness.
Jorgen Strand Larsen has scored five goals in his last five appearances for club and country, and the 21-year-old is one to keep an eye on.
Veteran defender Bram van Polen is ruled out for the away side as he continues to battle with a muscle injury.
Zwole will also be without the services of Pelle Clement and Sai Van Wermeskerken who are currently sidelined with ankle and knee injuries respectively.
Groningen possible starting lineup:
Leeuwenburgh; Kasanwirjo, Sverko, Te Wierik, Van Hintum; Duarte, Dammers, Ngonge; Irandust, El Hankouri, Strand Larsen
PEC Zwolle possible starting lineup:
Lamprou; Voet, Kersten, Nakayama; Paal, Strieder, Saymak, Reijnders; Huiberts, De Wit, Redan
We say: Groningen 2-0 PEC Zwolle
Groningen seem to have turned a corner in recent weeks and are favourites to claim all three points in this one. We are backing them to get the job done in a relatively comfortable manner.
Top tip
Adepoju Marvellous
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 Groningen win with a probability of 65.37%. A draw had a probability of 21.3% and a win for PEC Zwolle had a probability of 13.33%.
The most likely scoreline for a Groningen win was 1-0 with a probability of 14.03%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (13.25%) and 2-1 (9.42%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.98%), while for a PEC Zwolle win it was 0-1 (5.28%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 10% likelihood.
