FC Utrecht and Sparta Rotterdam square off in the first leg of their European competition playoff semi-final on Thursday evening.

The two teams finished in seventh and sixth place respectively in the Eredivisie standings, and their goal now is to earn a spot in the Europa Conference League qualifying rounds.

Match preview

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Having won five of their last seven matches of the regular season, Utrecht will be confident of turning their recent form into a rare place on the continental scene.

Their only defeats came by 3-1 scorelines at each of Feyenoord and Ajax, while three goals have been scored in two of their last three victories.

Michael Silberbauer's team concluded the regular campaign with a 3-2 success over Emmen, twice being pegged back by their opponents before the winning goal was eventually found when down to 10 men.

As well as only losing four times at Stadion Galgenwaard in the league this season, as many as 10 points have been collected from a possible 12 in recent outings.

Utrecht also have fond memories from the last time that they faced Sparta Rotterdam, prevailing by a 3-0 scoreline on away territory in February.

However, Silberbauer will be wary of playing a team that have netted nine times in their last two games and have only failed to score once in their most recent 11 matches.

On the back of recording a 4-1 victory over Cambuur, Sparta travelled to fellow relegated side and returned with a 5-0 triumph.

Maurice Steijn's team have now only lost one of their last six away fixtures in Eredivisie action, conceding a last-minute goal to succumb 2-1 to FC Volendam.

Their other two defeats since the beginning of March have been versus Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven, highlighting the level that they have recently been performing at.

Team News

Utrecht will have to make do without Mike van de Hoorn after his red card shortly after the hour mark versus Emmen.

Although Ruben Kluivert was handed game time as his replacement, Modibo Sagnan appears more likely to be drafted into the middle of defence.

Hidde ter Avest is an alternative to Mark van der Maarel at left-back, but the rest of the team may stay the same.

Steijn rotated some of his players for the final game and the likes of Joshua Kitolano and Koki Saito should return to the Sparta starting lineup.

Veteran defender Adil Auassar may also come back into the centre of the backline.

FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:
Barkas, Klaiber, Sagnan, Viergever, Van der Maarel; Bozdogan, Toornstra; Ramselaar, Van de Streek, Boussaid; Douvikas

Sparta Rotterdam possible starting lineup:
Olij; Sambo, Vriends, Auassar, Pinto; Verschueren, De Guzman, Kitolano; Namli, Lauritsen, Saito

We say: FC Utrecht 2-2 Sparta Rotterdam

With both teams in good form, this should prove to be a competitive tie over the second legs. Goals have not been in short supply for either side, and it leads us to predict an entertaining share of the spoils.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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