Fortuna Sittard will be looking to secure a fourth home win on the bounce when they take on Twente at the Offermans Joosten Stadion in round 13 of the Eredivisie on Saturday.
Both sides head into the weekend off the back of picking up friendly wins during the international break, with the hosts claiming a comfortable victory over Top Oss while the Tukkers edged out Hamburger in Germany.
Match preview
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Fortuna Sittard turned in a solid team display during the international break as they cruised to a 3-0 friendly victory over second-tier outfit Top Oss two Wednesdays ago.
Brazilian defender Rodrigo Guth scored twice in a nine-minute spell to put the home side in a commanding lead heading into half time before Ante Erceg put the icing on the cake with an 87th-minute strike.
Head coach Danny Buijs will hope that his side can build on their impressive friendly display as they turn their focus to the Eredivisie, where they will be looking to return to winning ways after falling to a 3-1 defeat against 10-man PEC Zwolle on November 9.
Before that, Fortuna Sittard were on a five-game unbeaten run, picking up three wins and two draws while scoring six goals and keeping four clean sheets, having lost each of their four matches preceding this run.
Following a 10th-placed finish last season, the Fortunezen have picked up 17 points from 12 matches so far to sit seventh in the Eredivisie standings, level on points with sixth-placed AZ Alkmaar.
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Like the home sides, Twente picked up an impressive friendly victory during the break as they thrashed German outfit Hamburger 4-2 when the two sides squared off on November 13.
Davie Selke scored either side of Owen Panneflek's 39th-minute equaliser to hand Hamburger a first-half lead but Sem Steijn restored parity in the 51st minute before Michel Vlap netted twice to complete the comeback.
Twente now return to action in the Eredivisie, where they are unbeaten in their last four matches, picking up two draws and two wins — including a 5-0 hammering of Heracles on October 27 — and have lost just one of their last nine matches since mid-September.
Joseph Oosting's men have won six of their 12 league matches so far while losing twice and claiming three draws to collect 22 points and sit fifth in the standings but could move into fourth place with all three points this weekend.
Twente will be backing themselves to continue from where they left off against Hamburger on Saturday as they take on an opposing side who have lost their last four encounters, conceding 11 goals and failing to find the back of the net since a 2-1 victory in May 2022.
Team News
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Fortuna Sittard remain without the services of 26-year-old forward Kaj Sierhuis, who continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines since sustaining a severe knee injury back in May.
Summer signing Ezequiel Bullaude has enjoyed an impressive start to life with the Fortunezen and the Argentine midfielder, who has five goals in his last eight competitive matches, will be one to keep an eye on.
As for Twente, they will have to cope without the services of Moroccan midfielder Younes Taha, who has been out of action since his freak leg injury in the game against Zwolle on September 14.
With his strike against Hamburger, Steijn now has 12 goals contributions across all competitions this season and the 23-year-old will be looking to deliver the good once again.
He should team up in midfield with Daan Rots and 27-year-old Vlap, who has racked up four goals in the last two matches, while former Rangers man Sam Lammers should spearhead the Tukkers' attack.
At the defensive end of the pitch, Oosting should name a back four of Bart van Rooij, Mees Hilgers, Max Bruns and Anass Salah-Eddine, with Lars Unnerstall starting between the sticks once again.
Fortuna Sittard possible starting lineup:
Branderhorst; Pinto, Adewoye, Guth, Dijks, Fosso; Halilovic, Rosier; Bastien, Da Cruz, Bullaude
FC Twente possible starting lineup:
Unnerstall; Van Rooij, Hilgers, Bruns, Salah-Eddine; Besselink, Eiting; Rots, Steijn, Vlap; Lammers
We say: Fortuna Sittard 1-3 FC Twente
Off the back of impressive friendly victories, Fortuna Sittard and Twente will head into the weekend in high spirits as they look to return to winning ways in the league.
While Fortuna have been rock-solid at home in recent weeks, Oosting's men boast the firepower needed to get the job done and were backing them to make it five straight wins over the hosts this weekend.
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Joshua Ojele
