Seeking to end their three-game winless run, Utrecht take a trip to the Mandemakers Stadion to face RKC Waalwijk in round 28 of the Eredivisie on Saturday.
This will be the second meeting between the sides this season after the spoils were shared in a thrilling 2-2 draw when they faced off back in September's reverse fixture.
Match preview
RKC Waalwijk returned to winning ways in style as they came from behind to see off Vitesse 2-1 at the Gelredome Stadium two Sundays ago.
After falling behind to Lois Openda's sixth-minute opener, they rallied and upped the ante as Melle Meulensteen and Alexander Buttner scored to turn the game on its head.
Prior to that, Joseph Oosting's men were on a seven-game winless run, claiming two draws and losing five, while scoring five and shipping 15 in that time.
With 27 points from 27 games, Waalwijk are currently 14th in the Eredivisie standings, level on points with Heracles Almelo and five above Fortuna Sittard in the relegation playoff spot.
Saturday's hosts head into the game fresh off the back of a thrilling 3-3 draw with Feyenoord when the sides met in a friendly fixture last Wednesday, and Oosting will hope his side can take the positives from that performance.
Utrecht, on the other hand, suffered successive league defeats for just the second time this season last time out when they were beaten 3-1 by a rejuvenated Groningen side on home turf.
The game was off to a flyer as Mo El Hankouri and Michael De Leeuw scored in the opening 10 minutes to put Groningen two goals up heading into the interval, and after Bart Ramselaar pulled one back in the 48th minute, Jorgen Strand Larsen struck with one minute left to play to restore the visitors' two-goal advantage.
Utrecht have now failed to win any of their most recent three games, claiming one draw and suffering consecutive defeats to PSV Eindhoven and Groningen, while managing just one victory in their last six outings.
Rene Hake's men have won 11, drawn seven and lost nine of their 27 games this season to collect 40 points and sit seventh on the log, four points above eighth-placed Groningen just outside the Conference League playoff places.
Next up for Utrecht is an opposing side who they are unbeaten against in 10 of the last 14 meetings between the teams since 2009, claiming nine wins and one draw in that time.
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Team News
Waalwijk will be boosted by the return of wing-back Jurien Gaari, who missed the game against Vitesse through suspension after crossing the yellow card threshold.
On the injury front, Oosting will be unable to call upon Belgian midfielder Sebbe Augustijns, who has been out of action since last December through a knee problem.
Jens Odgaard has been a standout performer this season, scoring eight goals and registering six assists, and the Sassuolo loanee will certainly be one to keep an eye out for on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Utrecht remain without the services of Naoki Maeda, who has been sidelined since picking up an injury against Ajax back in January.
He is joined on the Domstedelingen injury table by 20-year-old defender Christopher Mamengi, who has been out of action since last August through a severe knee injury.
RKC Waalwijk possible starting lineup:
Vaessen; Touba, Meulensteen, Adewoye; Bakari, Buttner, Van der Venne, Anita; Kramer, Odegaard, Stokkers
FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:
De Keijzer; Van der Kust, Van der Hoorn, St. Jago, Maarel; Ramselaar, Van Overeem; Van de Streek; Timber, Balk; Douvikas
We say: RKC Waalwijk 1-2 FC Utrecht
Waalwijk will head into the weekend with reinvigorated confidence after seeing off Vitesse in their last league outing and holding Feyenoord to a thrilling friendly draw.
While Utrecht have been inconsistent of late, they boast a significantly superior crop of players capable of coming away with the desired results. We expect the hosts to put up a fight, but we are backing Utrecht to claim maximum points in this one.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
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 FC Utrecht win with a probability of 57.11%. A draw had a probability of 22% and a win for RKC Waalwijk had a probability of 20.94%.
The most likely scoreline for a FC Utrecht win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.91%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (9.44%) and 0-2 (9.13%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.25%), while for a RKC Waalwijk win it was 2-1 (5.57%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 10.3% likelihood.
