Willem II and Fortuna Sittard commence gameweek 10 of the 2021-22 Eredivisie season with their meeting at the Koning Willem II Stadion on Friday.
The home side are looking to end a two-game winless run, while their visitors go in search of back to back victories for the first time this term.
Match preview
Willem II failed to win away from home for the second game running following a 1-1 draw versus Twente at De Grolsch Veste on Sunday.
Fred Grim's men fell behind in the sixth minute when Dimitris Limnios opened the scoring but restored parity 18 minutes later thanks to Che Nunnely.
Consequently, the Superkruiken remain fourth in the Eredivisie table but are now five points behind current leaders Ajax at the top of the standings.
Next up for them is a clash versus an opposing side against whom they are unbeaten in six of the last seven meetings, picking up four wins and two draws.
Friday's hosts, who have come out on top in three of their four home games this term, now seek to return to winning ways on home turf off the back of consecutive outings on the road.
Fortuna Sittard ended a barren run of six games without a win by defeating newcomers Cambuur 1-0 at the Fortuna-Sittard Stadion on Saturday.
Both sides were set for a point apiece with the scores level heading into the final five minutes, in which George Cox broke the deadlock to hand Sjors Ultee's men all three points.
That was the Fortunezen's first triumph since the opening weekend, and they have now moved up to 14th place on the log with a game in hand.
One of six sides yet to win away from home this term, Friday's visitors need to get going on their travels to continue their surge up the table in the coming weeks.
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Team News
Wesley Spieringhs and Freek Heerkens continue to battle with knee injuries and are both unavailable for this weekend's hosts.
First-choice goalkeeper Robbin Ruiter will also miss the game having not featured since the opening day due to a shoulder injury.
Lisandro Semedo continues his spell on the sidelines with an ankle injury which has seen him miss all of Fortuna's league outings this season.
Mats Seuntjens has found the back of the net in two of his three away appearances this term and will be looking to come up trumps once again.
Willem II possible starting lineup:
Wellenreuther; Owusu, Jenssen, Bergstrom, Kohn; Saglam, Saddiki, Llonch; Kohlert, Okyere Wriedt, Nunnely
Fortuna Sittard possible starting lineup:
Van Osch; Cox, Janssen, Angha, Tirpan; Rienstra, Tekie, Duarte; Seuntjens, Sambou, Hansson
We say: Willem II 2-1 Fortuna Sittard
Willem II have hit a bump in recent weeks and will be keen to get back on track. Buoyed by their victory last time out, Fortuna will be confident of picking up a positive result in this one, but we are tipping the hosts to emerge victorious come the final whistle.
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 Willem II win with a probability of 48.03%. A win for Fortuna Sittard had a probability of 26.34% and a draw had a probability of 25.6%.
The most likely scoreline for a Willem II win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.49%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.3%) and 2-0 (8.77%). The likeliest Fortuna Sittard win was 0-1 (7.99%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.18%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.2% likelihood.
