RKC Waalwijk play host to Heracles on Sunday looking for the win they require to give themselves a better chance of avoiding relegation to the second tier of Dutch football.
At a time when the home side sit in 17th position in the Eredivisie table, Heracles are in 10th spot, seven points clear of the relegation zone.
Match preview
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Aside from a three-match winning streak between January 26 and February 9, RKC Waalwijk have endured one of their worst campaigns in recent memory.
That nine-point haul in quick succession represents half of their total for the campaign, a recent four-match losing streak leaving Henk Fraser's side close to being cut adrift.
With seven matches remaining, there is a six-point deficit to the relegation playoff spot, but RKC helped their cause last time out with a morale-boosting 2-2 draw at AZ Alkmaar.
Having come from behind to lead, RKC conceded an 84th-minute equaliser, yet Fraser will be realistic when assessing the share of the spoils with his team having been rank outsiders for that contest.
In the grand scheme of things, though, only victories will do from here. At the Mandemakers Stadion, just 11 points have been accumulated from 13 games, albeit with just a -6 goal difference.
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On the back of last season's 14th-placed finish, Heracles supporters will be delighted with sitting in 10th position at this stage of 2024-25.
From their 11 matches since the start of the calendar year, they have lost just twice - one of those defeats coming to Ajax - and a total of four wins have been posted during that period.
One of those came last time out as Heracles edged out FC Twente by a 2-1 scoreline, making it three successive wins on home territory, but Erwin van de Looi's side have been far less productive on their travels.
As well as failing to win any of their last four away encounters, Heracles have just nine points from 13 such matches, ultimately proving to be the difference maker between sitting in 10th rather than eighth.
Team News
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Juan Familia-Castillo and Chris Lokesa came off the substitutes' bench to combine for a RKC goal at AZ, plausibly putting them in contention for a recall.
Aaron Meijers and Richard van der Venne are most likely to drop out of the side at left wing-back and in midfield respectively.
Defender Faissal Al Mazyani comes back into the mix after serving a one-match suspension.
As for Heracles, Van de Looi may opt against making any alterations on the back of such an impressive win over Twente.
Jizz Hornkamp took his recent tally to four goals from as many games with a double in that fixture, and he will continue to lead the line.
RKC Waalwijk possible starting lineup:
Houwen; Gelderen, Eijma, Yaakoubi; Roemeratoe; Lelieveld, Oukili, Lokesa, Familia-Castillo; Zawada, Kramer
Heracles possible starting lineup:
Keijzer; Wieckhoff, Mirani, Mesik, Benita; Keersmaecker, Scheperman; Talvitie, Bruns, Podgoreanu; Hornkamp
We say: RKC Waalwijk 1-1 Heracles
With a draw against AZ last time out, RKC will be playing with a greater belief in this contest. However, we still do not feel that it will be enough to earn the maximum return that they need, leading us to back a share of the spoils.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Darren Plant
