FC Utrecht play host to SBV Excelsior on Wednesday evening looking to keep in close proximity to the top six in the Eredivisie standings.
At a time when the home side sit in eighth position, Excelsior are in 11th place, albeit seven points adrift of their next opponents.
Match preview
© Reuters
Of all the teams which did not want the World Cup break to arrive, Utrecht were arguably at the top of that list having recorded four successive victories before the global tournament.
Since then, it has been a different story with all momentum having been lost and three matches passing by without getting another win on the board.
Although drawing with leaders Feyenoord was perceived to be a point gained, despite conceding a last-gasp equaliser, losing at FC Twente at the weekend was a significant blow to their hopes of remaining in the hunt for the European places.
Michael Silberbauer's side are on their worst run since August and the pressure is rising as they bid to show that they can remain in the top half of the table.
With AZ Alkmaar and PSV Eindhoven to come before the end of February, Utrecht need to take advantage of games such as the one on Wednesday.
From Excelsior's perspective, remaining in the top flight in their first season back remains the primary objective, and it has become increasingly likely that they will achieve that goal.
Victories over FC Groningen and FC Volendam have been recorded since the resumption, catapulting Marinus Dijkhuizen's team into 11th place and seven points clear of the bottom three.
For a team that finished in sixth spot in the second tier during 2021-22, it is a huge achievement thus far, but Ajax and AZ are to come in two of their next three games after Wednesday's encounter.
That highlights the need for Excelsior to keep pushing, and they need to change something on their travels having collected just four points from nine away fixtures.
Team News
Silberbauer will likely tinker with his Utrecht side on the back of defeat to Twente, potentially handing a recall to defender Mark van der Maarel.
The veteran's versatility means that he could feature in any role, although returning at left-back for Nick Viergever appears most likely.
Anastasios Douvikas could also return in the final third, with Othman Boussaid possibly dropping down to the substitutes' bench.
Fewer alterations are expected with the Excelsior side with Dijkhuizen in line to select an unchanged starting lineup.
Although Yassin Ayoub may come back into contention in midfield, he could have to make do with a spot among the replacements.
FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:
Barkas; Avest, Van der Hoorn, Sagnan, Van der Maarel; Bozdogan, Brouwers, Booth; Douvikas, Dost, Younes
SBV Excelsior possible starting lineup:
Van Gassel; Horemans, Nieuwpoort, Yaakoubi, Tjoe-A-On; Fein, Goudmijn, Baas; Azarkan, Kharchouch, Driouech
We say: FC Utrecht 1-1 SBV Excelsior
With the visitors being in the better form, they will fancy their chances of collecting another three points on Wednesday. However, Utrecht are a solid team on home territory, leading us to predict a low-scoring draw.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
