Matchday 14 of the 2022-23 Eredivisie season gets underway with a meeting between Sparta Rotterdam and FC Twente at the Sparta Stadion Het Kasteel on Friday.
Both teams head into the clash in good form as the hosts aim to record a third consecutive win, while the visitors go in search of a fourth victory in five outings.
Match preview
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Twente were denied a fourth triumph on the bounce courtesy of a 1-1 stalemate against Go Ahead Eagles at De Grolsch Veste on Sunday afternoon.
Ron Jans's men looked to be on their way to success after taking the lead through Ricky van Wolfswinkel before Willum Thor Willumsson restored parity in second-half stoppage time.
As a result, the Tukkers have dropped down to fourth position in the Eredivisie table, four points adrift of division leaders PSV Eindhoven.
Coming up next is the task of facing off against an opposing outfit with just two victories in the most recent nine meetings between the teams since 2018.
Having picked up a first away win since August on their last travel, Friday's visitors will be looking to pick up a second straight league victory on the road for the first time this term.
Sparta Rotterdam breezed past the challenge of Vitesse in an emphatic 4-0 victory when the teams went head-to-head at the GelreDome on Saturday.
Off the back of a drab first half, Tobias Lauritsen scored a second-half brace, while Sven Mijnans and Arno Verschueren also got in on the act to put Maurice Steijn's men to the sword.
With 23 points from 13 league outings so far, De Kasteelheren sit sixth in the league standings, three points behind their next opponents ahead of the meeting.
Currently on a five-game winning run on home turf, Friday's hosts have turned a corner in front of their fans and will back themselves to come out on top in this one.
Team News
Tim Coremans remains out of action for Sparta Rotterdam as he continues to battle with a shoulder problem, while Jonathan de Guzman is struggling with a muscle problem.
Twenty-eight-year-old Younes Namli is set to miss a sixth consecutive match due to a knee injury which he picked up last month in a 3-1 win over FC Emmen.
Michal Sadilek made his return to the bench for Twente last time out, and the Czech Republic international is in line to feature for the first time since August.
However, Wout Brama and Christos Tzolis are still ruled out for the away side as they are yet to shake off knee and muscle injuries respectively.
Sparta Rotterdam possible starting lineup:
Olij; Micha, Auassar, Vriends, Sambo; Kitolano, Verschueren; Saito, Mijnans, Van Crooy; Lauritsen
FC Twente possible starting lineup:
Unnerstall; Smal, Propper, Hilgers, Brenet; Zerrouki, Vlap; Cerny, Steijn, Misidjan; Van Wolfswinkel
We say: Sparta Rotterdam 1-2 FC Twente
The sides are averaging nearly two goals per game this term, and we expect both to get on the scoresheet. That said, Twente have been significantly superior at the other end, and we fancy them to come away with a narrow victory in the end.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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