The standout fixture of round 15 of the 2022-23 Eredivisie season sees two in-form sides face off against each other as FC Utrecht welcome Feyenoord to Stadion Galgenwaard on Sunday.
Having picked up a combined 25 points from their last five league games apiece, this weekend's opponents will be looking to pick up where they left off.
Match preview
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Feyenoord were firing on all cylinders in their final outing of 2022 courtesy of a comprehensive 5-0 victory over FC Emmen at De Kuip on December 28.
Patrik Walemark's first-half brace set Arne Slot's men on the way to victory after which goals from Oussama Idrissi, Marcus Pedersen and Danilo put the result beyond doubt.
De Stadionclub have now come out on top in eight of their last nine games - a run which has seen them claim leadership of the Eredivisie table, three points clear of defending champions Ajax.
Next up is the challenge of an opposing outfit with just one victory in the most recent seven meetings between the teams across all competitions.
Having netted a division-high 19 goals away from home this term, Sunday's visitors will fancy themselves to put on another superb attacking display on enemy territory.
Utrecht suffered a second consecutive defeat as they were convincingly beaten 3-0 by Groningen in the sides' friendly encounter on December 23.
Tomas Suslov and Ricardo Pepi netted in the first half to put Rene Hake's men on the back foot before Pepi grabbed his second of the game just shy of the hour mark.
However, the Domstedelingen are currently on a run of five straight competitive wins, with four of them coming in the league, where they sit seventh in the standings.
With just seven goals notched up across as many league outings on home turf so far, Sunday's hosts will need to up the ante in front of goal to stand any chance of coming away with a positive result.
Team News
Mimoun Mahi and Bart Ramselaar continue to nurse long-term knee problems, and the midfield duo will not play any part for Utrecht in Sunday's clash.
Ramon Hendriks and Nick Viergever are also unavailable for the hosts through injury, while Tommy St Jago remains sidelined for the ninth straight month.
Feyenoord's Gustavo Trauner is a major doubt for this one as the Austrian picked up a knee injury briefly after returning from international duty.
Twenty-one-year-old Patrik Walemark has found the back of the net four times in his last two appearances, making him one to look out for here.
FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:
Barkas; Van der Maarel, Sagnan, Van der Hoorn, Klaiber; Toornstra, Booth, Brouwers, Van de Streek; Dost, Redan
Feyenoord possible starting lineup:
Bijlow; Hartman, Hancko, Rasmussen, Geertruida; Szymanski, Timber; Walemark, Kokcu, Dilrosun; Paixao
We say: FC Utrecht 1-2 Feyenoord
The teams possess a plethora of attacking talents, so we expect goals at both ends here. That said, Feyenoord boast more quality all over the pitch, and we can see them emerging victorious in the end.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
