Feyenoord square off against Sparta Rotterdam on Sunday morning looking to retain their grip on third position in the Eredivisie standings.

Meanwhile, ninth-placed Sparta head into the derby on the back of recording three wins from their last four fixtures.

Match preview

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Feyenoord have recorded seven points from their last four matches in the Dutch top flight, a return which will not be good enough to challenge for a first title since 2017.

However, leaders Ajax also dropped five points over the same period, keeping Dick Advocaat's side in relatively close proximity to their main rivals for silverware.

Feyenoord recorded a convincing 3-0 win over Heerenveen last time out to get back on track, but Advocaat requires consistency over the coming months to threaten Ajax and PSV Eindhoven.

With a trip to Amsterdam to come on January 17, it is imperative that De club aan de Maas prevail in their upcoming matches against Sparta and PEC Zwolle.

Despite remaining as the club's top goalscorer throughout the campaign, Steven Berghuis has netted just once in his last seven outings in all competitions.

As far as Sparta are concerned, they head into the showdown with their neighbours having recorded 12 points from their most recent six matches.

There was a time earlier in the campaign when Henk Fraser would have been far more concerned with the club avoiding a battle at the wrong end of the table.

However, with a nine-point advantage over the bottom two, De Kasteelheren can head into this contest without any added pressure on their shoulders, something which should play into their favour.

Deroy Duarte has been the star of the show in recent fixtures, contributing four goals from as many appearances since December 4.

Sparta Rotterdam Eredivisie form: WLWWLW

Feyenoord Eredivisie form: WDDWLW
Feyenoord form (all competitions): LDLWLW

Team News

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Fraser could opt to make no changes to his Sparta XI after their 2-0 victory away at FC Twente before Christmas.

Only Tim Coremans, who is sidelined with a knee injury, remains absent for the home side.

As for Feyenoord, Joao Teixeira, Orkun Kokcu, Ridgeciano Haps and Sven van Beek are all missing for Advocaat's team.

Barring any more fitness issues, the team from the meeting with Heerenveen could remain the same.

Sparta Rotterdam possible starting lineup:
Okoye; Abels; Vriends, Heylen, Pinto; Auassar, Harroui; Mijnans, Smeets, Duarte; Thy

Feyenoord possible starting lineup:
Marsman; Geertruida, Botteghin, Senesi, Malacia; Toornstra, Fer, Diemers; Berghuis, Linssen, Narsingh

We say: Sparta Rotterdam 1-2 Feyenoord

This has all the makings of being a competitive encounter, particularly with Sparta possessing home advantage. However, Feyenoord need to find something extra to trouble their title rivals, and we feel that extra motivation will prove decisive during the closing quarter.

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