PEC Zwolle face off against RKC Waalwijk at the Mandemakers Stadion on Saturday looking to record consecutive victories for the first time this term.
On the other hand, RKC come into the clash with some picking up to do off the back of a first defeat in five matches last time out.
Match preview
Waalwijk were comfortably beaten 2-0 by title-chasing PSV Eindhoven when the teams locked horns two Sundays ago.
Goals in either half from Joey Veerman and Jordan Teze settled a largely one-sided affair at the Philips Stadion.
Now just three points above the drop zone, Joseph Oosting's men have been sucked into a relegation scrap with just five games left to play.
Their next task comes against an opposing side still looking for their first victory in this fixture since 2011 having failed to win any of the last 11 meetings.
However, Saturday's hosts have scored the joint second-fewest goals on home turf and will need to up the ante at the attacking end of the pitch to come away with a positive result in this one.
Zwolle secured a huge feather in the cap in their last outing following a 2-1 win against AZ Alkmaar at the Mac3Park Stadion on April 10.
Dick Schreuder's men took the lead five minutes into the second half through Gervane Kastaneer, but that advantage was wiped out in the 81st minute by Vangelis Pavlidis before Daishawn Redan settled the game with a late winner.
The Blauwvingers have moved off the bottom of the Eredivisie standings into 17th place and are now just three points adrift of safety.
With games against Ajax and PSV still to come, a victory this weekend would do Saturday's visitors the world of good heading into those aforementioned high-profile encounters.
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Team News
Samir Lagsir and Sam Kersten both remain sidelined with long-term knee injuries and are unavailable for Zwolle.
Midfielder Dean Huiberts is ruled out through an ankle problem, while Mustafa Saymak continues to nurse a torn muscle.
Waalwijk will be without the services of Dario van den Buijs, who is currently recuperating from a shoulder injury.
Sebbe Augustijns is expected to miss Saturday's game due to a Fibula fracture, and the 23-year-old is joined on the hosts' treatment table by David Min.
Daishawn Redan missed a penalty in the reverse fixture and will be looking to make amends in this one having recently ended a six-game goal drought.
RKC Waalwijk possible starting lineup:
Vaessen; Buttner, Touba, Meulensteen, Adewoye, Gaari; Azhil, Anita, Bakari; Kramer, Odgaard
PEC Zwolle possible starting lineup:
Lamprou; Van Polen, Nakayama, De Wit; Anderson, Clement, Van den Belt, Paal; Kastaneer, Redan, Darfalou
We say: RKC Waalwijk 1-1 PEC Zwolle
Each of the last four meetings between the sides has ended in a stalemate, and we expect the trend to continue here in what should be a cagey contest with little goalmouth action at both ends.
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 PEC Zwolle win with a probability of 38.81%. A win for RKC Waalwijk had a probability of 34.81% and a draw had a probability of 26.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a PEC Zwolle win was 0-1 with a probability of 9.99%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.42%) and 0-2 (6.7%). The likeliest RKC Waalwijk win was 1-0 (9.35%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.54%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 6.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that PEC Zwolle would win this match.
