Aiming to avoid losing three Eredivisie matches on the trot, FC Twente host Europe hopefuls Fortuna Sittard in Saturday's gameweek 28 clash at De Grolsch Veste.
The Tukkers' recent defeats have seen them fall away in the battle to end in the top three or four, and Joseph Oosting's sixth-placed side may have to settle for the post-season European playoffs if results remain inconsistent in the concluding rounds.
Match preview
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Twente entered their last home match with Feyenoord unbeaten in six top-flight games, winning three, and unbeaten in front of their supporters since falling to Utrecht in February 2024.
However, an Igor Paixao-inspired showing for Robin van Persie's men stunned fans in Enschede as the Reds fell to a 6-2 hammering on their turf, ending Twente's 18-match unbeaten league streak at home, including 15 victories.
Aiming to move on from that loss, Oosting's team came unstuck again at Heracles in the previous round to fall to consecutive Eredivisie losses for the first time since February 2023, when the Reds suffered back-to-back defeats at Go Ahead Eagles (2-1) and PSV Eindhoven (3-1).
Keen to move on from the latest setbacks, the Tukkers aim to benefit from an impressive five-match streak of victories against Fortuna to return to winning ways and avoid falling to back-to-back defeats in front of their supporters since 2021, when Vitesse and Utrecht secured 2-1 victories.
Getting back to winning ways or otherwise could determine Twente's fading prospects of finishing in the top three, guaranteeing progress to the Champions League qualifying round, claiming fourth to secure a possible Europa League second qualifying round tie or ending in the playoff spots — the sixth-placed Reds are seven points adrift of Feyenoord in third and six behind fourth-placed Utrecht.
While Pride of the East are all but expected to end in some position guaranteeing possible continental participation, Fortuna's fate remains uncertain.
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Danny Buijs's men are ninth in the standings heading into gameweek 28, a spot which could suffice for a post-season playoff berth.
However, ninth-placed FSC will need the KNVB Beker winner — AZ Alkmaar or Go Ahead Eagles — to finish outside the top four to hand an extra playoff spot to the ninth-placed team, as claiming that cup title means direct qualification for the Europa League.
Nevertheless, the Sittard outfit could still finish eighth as they are tied with Groningen on 32 points; however, they have a surfeit of other clubs tussling for the same slots.
Considering that Groningen and Fortuna (32 points) are four points above 15th-place Sparta Rotterdam, six other clubs — Heracles (31), Heerenveen (31), NEC (30), NAC Breda (30), PEC Zwolle (29) and Sparta (28) — could tussle for eighth place or eighth and ninth depending on AZ and Go Ahead Eagles' final league positions.
With none of said clubs apart from Groningen in decent form, there should be more twists and turns in the eight-team tussle to end in the final European playoff berth.
Team News
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Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Gerald Alders are Twente's only reported absentees, giving the hosts a relatively healthy squad for Fortuna's visit.
Sem Steijn is the leading goalscorer in the Eredivisie, notching 22 from 26 appearances, eight more than second-placed Troy Parrott, and the attacking midfielder aims to increase that tally this weekend.
Fortuna will evaluate Jasper Dahlhaus, Onur Demir and Ramazan Bayram before travelling to Twente, but Daley Sinkgraven is not expected to return until mid-to-late April.
Despite outscoring his teammates, seven-goal man Kristoffer Peterson is outdone for match-winning goals by Alen Halilovic and Ezequiel Bullaude, both of whom have netted two game-clinching efforts.
FC Twente possible starting lineup:
Unnerstall; Van Rooij, Hilgers, Lagerbielke, Kuipers; Vlap, Sadilek; Rots, Steijn, Unuvar; Verschueren
Fortuna Sittard possible starting lineup:
Branderhorst; Van Ottele, Guth, Loreintz; Pinto, Fosso, Ballaude, Dijks; Michut, Sierhuis, Peterson
We say: FC Twente 3-1 Fortuna Sittard
Twente have claimed five consecutive victories in this fixture since August 2022, and the Reds are expected to put the Feyenoord thrashing behind them to record a sixth straight triumph and secure their 10th league success in Enschede.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
