Preview: Willem II vs. FC Utrecht - prediction, team news, lineups

Willem II and FC Utrecht get round 23 of the Eredivisie season underway when they meet in Tilburg on Friday as both sides look to climb up the table.

The hosts are in 16th place as things stand, while their visitors are eight places and 18 points away in eighth place.

Match preview

On the back of a 2-0 win against Emmen to kick off his managerial reign at Willem, Zeljko Petrovic suffered a 5-0 defeat away at Feyenoord on Sunday.

The Tricolores repelled everything that the home team threw at them for the majority of the first half, but their resolve was broken just before the interval, leading to an eventual capitulation in the second half.

If anything, Petrovic was given a reminder of the huge task ahead of him in his quest to prevent his new employers from dropping into the second tier of Dutch football.

Sunday's hosts are now six points behind RKC Waalwijk in the race for survival following the latter's recent change in fortunes.

Willem now have it all to do if they are to retain their top-flight status, which is quite surprising given the fact that they finished fifth in the most recent campaign that was prematurely ended due to coronavirus.

In-form Utrecht made it four wins from their last five league games courtesy of a 3-1 victory over VVV-Venlo at the Stadion Galgenwaard on Sunday.

As a result of that run, Rene Hake's men have moved up from 10th place to within two points of seventh-placed Twente despite having played a game less.

Trips to Willem in recent seasons have produced mixed results for Utrecht with one win, one loss and one draw from the previous three meetings.

However, Utrecht will go into this one with real belief and rightly so too as they have been very impressive in recent weeks.

Willem II Eredivisie form: LDLLWL

FC Utrecht Eredivisie form: LWWWDW

Team News

Mimoun Mahi came off the bench to score two goals last time out, and he could have been rewarded for his heroics with a start in this one had he not been ruled out due to injury.

The visitors will also be without Eljero Elia and Emil Bergstrom for the game owing to hamstring injuries, but they are not far off a return to action.

A muscle injury kept Willem's Pol Llonch out of his side's loss to Feyenoord, and he is expected to be unavailable for the weekend.

Lindon Selahi has been given five of his 10 league appearances since the turn of the year, and Llonch's injury all but confirms that the 21-year-old midfielder is on course to play once again.

Alongside Miquel Nelom, whose season has been prematurely ended with a knee injury, Dries Saddiki will also not be featuring as he steps up his recovery from a muscle tear which he sustained over a month ago.

Willem II possible starting lineup:
Brondeel; Kohn, Peters, Heerkens, Owusu; Kohlert, Selahi, Spieringhs, Nunnely; Pavlidis, Okyere Wriedt

FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:
Oelschlagel; Warmerdam, Janssen, St Jago, Ter Avest; Maher, Boussaid, Van Overeem; Ramselaar, Van De Streek, Kerk

We say: Willem II 1-3 FC Utrecht

Utrecht will come into the game as the more confident side which is unsurprising given their recent form, and we expect them to keep that good run going against a Willem side who have been poor this season.