FC Utrecht play host to Fortuna Sittard on Sunday afternoon looking for the win that will see them retain at least third place in the Eredivisie table.
Meanwhile, Sittard head into this fixture with the opportunity to solidify a top-eight position in the standings.
Match preview
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While Wednesday's 8-0 demolition of Amsterdamsche Football Club in the KNVB Beker was a statement of intent from FC Utrecht, full focus is currently on league matters.
With 16 matches played, Ron Jans' side have managed to remain in the top three of the table, their only two defeats coming at the hands of Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven.
Although just a five-point gap remains between themselves and fifth position, Utrecht will be concentrating on staying within six points to leaders PSV.
As it stands, the Cathedral Citizens are on a three-game unbeaten streak in the league, collecting seven points from matches with Ajax, Almere City and Go Ahead Eagles.
Feyenoord and AZ Alkmaar follow in the fixtures after Christmas, upping the ante for Utrecht to get another three points on the board against their upcoming opponents.
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Fortuna Sittard are still reeling from losing 3-1 at lower-league Quick Boys in the KNVB Beker, ending the momentum that they had built in the league.
To their credit, however, just two defeats have been posted in 10 Eredivisie encounters, one of those coming to fifth-placed Twente.
More recently, consecutive away draws were claimed at Feyenoord and Heracles before holding on for a 3-2 victory over 17th-placed RKC Waalwijk, who threatened a comeback from 3-0 down.
Despite being encouraged by Utrecht conceding 15 goals in their eight home league matches during 2024-25, Danny Buijs' team have recorded just one win and netted just seven times over the same amount of away games.
Team News
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Although 19-year-old Englishman Adrian Blake has scored three times in his last two substitute appearances for FC Utrecht in all competitions, he is unlikely to get the nod in this fixture.
Having been able to ring the changes and rest players in the second half versus AFC, it is plausible that the Utrecht XI from the last league game remains similar.
However, with Paxten Aaronson serving a ban for five yellow cards, Can Bozdogan could be brought back into the midfield.
With Buijs having tinkered with his starting lineup for the KNVB Beker, Sunday's selection could be a closer resemblance to the team that started strongly versus RKC.
Alessio da Cruz scored in both of those fixtures, the forward now netting in three successive matches in all competitions.
FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:
Barkas; Vesterlund, Van der Hoorn, Viergever, Karouani; Iqbal, Bozdogan; Rodriguez, Toornstra, Cathline; Min
Fortuna Sittard possible starting lineup:
Branderhorst; Mitrovic, Ottele, Guth, Dijks; Bastien, Rosier; Halilovic, Bullaude, Peterson; Cruz
We say: FC Utrecht 3-0 Fortuna Sittard
With both teams holding three-match undefeated runs in the league, this may not necessarily be a routine win for the home side. However, it is the way that we see things materialising, Utrecht taking another step towards potential European qualification for 2025-26.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Darren Plant
