Two teams who could really do with a victory lock horns at the Abe Lenstra Stadion on Saturday as Heerenveen await the visit of Sparta Rotterdam in matchday 10 of the 2024-25 Eredivisie season.
The home side will head into this weekend's encounter off the back of an emphatic 3-0 defeat against NEC last time out, while the away side played out a 2-2 stalemate against Almere City.
Match preview
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Heerenveen's struggles away from home came to the fore once again as they were comprehensively thrashed 3-0 by NEC when the teams faced off against each other at Stadion de Goffert on Saturday evening.
Two goals from Vito van Crooy either side of Bram Nuytinck's strike put Robin van Persie's men to the sword in a highly one-sided affair in Nijmegen to further compound things for the rookie Dutch manager.
Having managed just one point from their last three league encounters, Heerenveen have dropped down to 16th place in the Eredivisie table but are currently in the relegation playoff place only due to an inferior goal difference to PEC Zwolle.
As their woes on the road continue, it is highly imperative De Superfriezen continue to get the job done on home turf, where they have picked up all eight points so far leading up to yet another home outing.
Winless in their last seven matches against Saturday's visitors, the hosts will be keen for a change in fortunes as they look to pull away from the drop zone before their opening domestic cup involvement against IJsselmeervogels on Tuesday.
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Sparta Rotterdam had to make do with a share of the spoils for the second time in three outings in Saturday's thrilling 2-2 draw against Almere City at the Sparta Stadion Het Kasteel.
Unlike their 1-1 stalemate against Fortuna Sittard towards the back end of September, when they were guilty of throwing away a first-half advantage, Jeroen Rijsdijk's men had to come from behind this time around.
Quickfire efforts from Camiel Neghli and Pelle Clement in a six-minute second-half salvo restored parity after Sparta had gone into the interval trailing to Thomas Robinet's strike and a Boyd Reith own goal.
Despite avoiding defeat in all but two of their nine matches so far, De Rood-Witte Gladiatoren have only amassed 11 points from a possible 27, largely down to their league-high five draws, and they currently sit 10th in the standings.
Like Saturday's hosts, the away side will need to tighten up at the back to stand a good chance of coming out on top, with both teams without a clean sheet in competitive action since August.
Team News
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Defender Teo Quintero is still battling with a meniscus injury and is out of contention here, while Tobias Lauritsen is set to miss out through concussion.
The away side will also take to the field without the services of Mike Eerdhuijzen after he received his marching orders in the second minute of stoppage time against Almere.
Kayky made his debut for Sparta in the aforementioned game, marking his return from a torn knee ligament, and the winger is expected to be gradually eased back into the thick of things.
Danilo Al-Saed and Ion Nicolaescu are both back available for Heerenveen after respective second-half cameos against NEC in Nijmegen last time out.
However, 21-year-old Daniel Seland Karlsbakk is still facing a spell on the sidelines as he continues to nurse a muscle problem which will keep him out of Saturday's affair.
Heerenveen possible starting lineup:
Noppert; Kohlert, Hopland, Kersten, Braude; Sebaoui, Brouwers, Conde, Trenskow; Nicolaescu, Rallis
Sparta Rotterdam possible starting lineup:
Olij; Reith, Meissen, Young, Kleijn; Clement, Kitolano; Neghli, Verschueren, Nassoh; Brym
We say: Heerenveen 1-1 Sparta Rotterdam
The onus will be more on Heerenveen to make home advantage count and get the better of a Sparta Rotterdam side who have dominated this fixture of late.
We are backing a share of the spoils with honours even at the end of the 90 minutes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Adepoju Marvellous
