Sunday's lunchtime kickoff will see FC Twente look to continue their excellent start to the 2023-24 Eredivisie season when they head to Stadion Galgenwaard to face FC Utrecht.
These sides have made contrasting starts this season, with the hosts currently sitting at the foot of the table with seven points, while the visitors are in third spot and five points behind the league leaders PSV Eindhoven.
Match preview
Utrecht is a long way from the type of form that saw them end last season in seventh place, as they have started the current campaign worse than the rest, managing just seven points in 10 matches.
The hosts lost each of their first four matches in the top flight this season, failing to score in their first three, and only managed to record their first point in gameweek five when they overcame Heracles on the road.
Unfortunately, they were unable to kick on from that result, losing the next three consecutive games against NEC, Almere City, and second-bottom Volendam without scoring a single goal in any of those matches.
However, the international break seemed to have come at the perfect moment for Ron Jans's side, as they returned from the break with a hard-fought 4-3 win over Ajax and avoided defeat by holding Fortuna Sittard to a stalemate last week.
Four points in two games will give the hosts some much-needed confidence coming into this match, but they will need to improve their attacking output if they are to climb out of the drop zone, considering that half of their goals this season came in just that one match against Ajax.
Meanwhile, Twente have spent the last few years knocking on the doors of the big three sides in the league, and with Ajax having a nightmare season currently, the visitors have nestled into third place in the early stages of the campaign.
The Tukkers have won eight of their 10 league matches so far, and after claiming a very good 2-1 victory over Feyenoord last week, they are now unbeaten in their last five league games, including four wins and a draw.
Against the defending champions, Manfred Ugalde gave his side the lead inside the opening 10 minutes of the match, and Ricky van Wolfswinkel doubled their advantage in the second half before Lutsharel Geertruida grabbed a late consolation.
Joseph Oosting's side have also been very good on the road this season, winning three, drawing one and losing one of their five away matches to date while scoring two or more goals in three of those fixtures.
However, the hosts will know that they cannot overlook this opponent regardless of their league position, as Utrecht did claim a 1-0 victory at this venue last season and are unbeaten in their last three against Twente at Stadion Galgenwaard.
Team News
Jans has a couple of absentees in this match, with Bart Ramselaar and former Manchester United youngster Zidane Iqbal both ruled out through injury for at least another few weeks.
Mike van der Hoorn was flagged with a knock after their 3-2 victory over RKC Waalwijk last week, but reports in the week suggest that the centre-back has shaken it off and will be available for selection.
In the opposing dugout, Oosting will have to make do without Naci Unuvar, Gijs Smal, Max Bruns and Joshua Brenet, who are all ruled out of this match due to injury.
Midfielder Michel Vlap has missed the last two matches with an ankle sprain, though he could return to the squad this week if he passes his fitness test.
Sem Steijn and van Wolfswinkel have scored five goals each so far this season and are currently tied for fourth in the league's top scorers standings for 2023-24.
FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:
Barkas; Novoa, Van der Hoorn, Sagnan, Leliendal; Flamingo, Bozdogan; Boussaid, Labyad, Booth, Descotte
FC Twente possible starting lineup:
Unnerstall; Sampsted, Hilgers, Propper, Regeer; Kjolo, Sadilek; Rots, Steijn, Vlap; Ugalde
We say: FC Utrecht 1-1 FC Twente
While the visitors come into this match with the better record behind them, Utrecht have shown improvement since the international break and are growing in confidence with each game. We are expecting a tight and tactical match here and feel that these sides will end level at the full-time whistle.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Devesh Jaganath
