Round 20 of the 2023-24 Eredivisie campaign concludes with a meeting between Sparta Rotterdam and PEC Zwolle at the Sparta Stadion Het Kasteel on Sunday,
The hosts will be looking to exact revenge on their visitors having suffered a 2-1 defeat in this season's reverse meeting back in August.
Match preview
Sparta Rotterdam played out a 1-1 stalemate against RKC Waalwijk when the teams went head-to-head at the Mandemakers Stadion on Saturday evening.
Jeroen Rijsdijk's men fell behind to Arno Verschueren's own goal before getting themselves back on level terms through Joshua Kitolano eight minutes from time.
Consequently, De Kasteelheren remain eighth in the Eredivisie table, three points clear of the chasing pack in the race for the final European place.
Up next is the challenge of an opposing outfit who are without a win in the last five editions of this fixture since 2021, losing four of them.
Currently on a run of four losses from their most recent five matches on home turf, Sunday's hosts will be keen to give their fans reason to cheer this time around.
PEC Zwolle snapped a four-game losing streak with a narrow 1-0 victory over Vitesse in the sides' contest at the MAC3PARK Stadion on Friday.
Johnny Jansen's men opened the scoring just past the quarter-hour mark through Eliano Reijnders, and that was enough to secure all three points.
With 23 points picked up from 19 outings, De Blauwvingers sit ninth in the standings, three points behind their next opponents heading into this weekend.
Having scored nine times in their last three matches on the road, Sunday's visitors now go in search of another attacking masterclass away from home.
Team News
Midfielders Samir Lagsir and Ryan Thomas are both ruled out with knee injuries, and neither of them will play any part for PEC Zwolle in this one.
Dutchman Zico Buurmeester also misses out for the away side through an ankle problem, while Ferdy Druijf remains sidelined with a muscle problem.
Sparta's Koki Saito made his return to action from a thigh injury last time out, but it remains to be seen if he will be fit enough to be handed a starting berth here.
With a team-high 10 direct goal contributions to his name this term, 26-year-old Tobias Lauritsen will be aiming to deliver the goods for his side once more.
Sparta Rotterdam possible starting lineup:
Olij; Van der Kust, Eerdhuijzen, Vriends, Bakari; Kitolano, Metinho; Warmerdam, Verschueren, Mito; Brym
PEC Zwolle possible starting lineup:
Schendelaar; Van Polen, Kersten, Lam, Garcia; Van den Berg, Fichtinger; Namli, Velanas, Reijnders; Thy
We say: Sparta Rotterdam 1-0 PEC Zwolle
There is little to choose between the sides and Sunday's encounter could easily swing either way. That said, we are backing the home side to narrowly see off the threat of their visitors and come out on top in the end.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Adepoju Marvellous
