Emmen and Cambuur meet in a mid-season relegation six-pointer in the latest round of Eredivisie matches on Sunday.
Sjors Ultee's side sit at the foot of the standings, while The Kannibals are just three points better off in the relegation playoff spot.
Match preview
Back in the Eredivisie after only one campaign following a brief spell in the second tier of Dutch football, Emmen have struggled to once again familiarise themselves with the best that the country's footballing sphere has to offer.
In the wake of lifting the Eerste Divisie title last season, Dick Lukkien's side have only registered two victories throughout a demoralising campaign.
Even the familiar setting of the De Oude Meerdijk has not been a good luck charm for the Drenthe-based outfit after only one league victory in front of the concerned Kannibals' home faithful.
In pursuit of their first league victory since the beginning of November, Emmen restarted the Eredivisie campaign with a 2-0 defeat to European qualification candidates Twente on January 6.
However, Sunday's hosts eventually returned to the winners' enclosure on Wednesday in the second round of the KNVB Cup, as Miguel Araujo's 94th-minute winner saw Dick Lukkien's side progress to the next phase at the expense of VVV-Venlo.
With every chance of moving out of the relegation playoff position with a victory, the hosts will fancy their chances against a visiting Cambuur side who have not been victorious in the Eredivisie since the beginning of October.
Similarly to their weekend hosts, Sjors Ultee's side have experienced their own demoralising struggles this season.
Sitting three points adrift of safety, Cambuur require a much-needed victory after seven tiresomely long matches without one.
Experiencing no prior luck against a clinical visiting Volendam outfit on January 8, The Yellow-Blues SCC then failed to progress to the third round of the Dutch Cup, as De Treffers claimed the notable scalp of their higher-league opposition on Wednesday.
In the wake of a notable ninth-placed finish in their first campaign back at the top level last term, Cambuur are suffering from a serious case of second-season syndrome and find themselves on a crash course for a return to the Eerste Divisie unless things improve in the opposite direction.
Team News
With only their impending opponents scoring fewer league goals this season, Emmen manager Dick Lukkien could stick with the attacking 4-2-3-1 formation that fired The Kannibals to their midweek victory in the KNVB Cup.
If Lukkien decides to go with the same starting XI, Richairo Zivkovic will begin the game as a lone striker, with Mark Diemers, Ole Romeny and Ahmed El Messaoudi starting just behind the Dutch forward.
Like their hosts, Cambuur have struggled to ignite their attacking cylinders in the final third across their Eredivisie expeditions this season, finding the back of the net on only six occasions.
However, it will be at the other end of the field where The Yellow-Blues SCC will be forced into making a change with on-loan Everton goalkeeper Joao Virginia suspended for the trip to the De Oude Meerdijk after being sent off in the cup defeat to De Treffers.
In the absence of the Portuguese shot-stopper Robbin Ruiter is expected to deputise in goal.
Emmen possible starting lineup:
Van der Hart; Burnet, Veldmate, Araujo, Bouchouari; Veendorp, Bernadou; Romeny, Diemers, El Messaoudi; Zivkovic
Cambuur possible starting lineup:
Ruiter; Bangura, Bergsma, Tol, Mac-Intosch, Wermeskerken; Paulissen, Hoedemakers, Jacobs; Boere, Van der Water
We say: Emmen 1-2 Cambuur
After suffering only one defeat in the last eight meetings between the two sides across all formats, we predict that Cambuur will continue their recent head-to-head dominance and finally experience the taste of a much-needed victory on their footballing palate come Sunday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
