Aiming to book one of four available slots in the 2024-25 KNVB Beker semi-final, Heracles and FC Utrecht will go head to head at the Asito Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Both teams head into this one in decent form, with the home side unbeaten in six matches across all competitions, while the visitors have lost just one of their last 10 matches.
Match preview
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After kicking off their cup journey with a 1-0 triumph over lower league Winterswijk on October 30, Heracles got the better of NEC in the subsequent round before claiming a 2-0 victory over De Graafschap last time out.
Either side of their last cup involvement, Erwin van de Looi's men have gone unbeaten in five straight league matches, although the last three have all ended in stalemates following Friday's 1-1 draw against NAC Breda.
Currently 14th in the Eredivisie table, the Heraclieden are just one point clear of the drop zone and are set to be embroiled in a relegation battle as the current campaign enters into its final 13 matches.
In the meantime, Heracles now have the opportunity to reach the last four of the Dutch Cup for the first time since the 2012 edition, when they were beaten by eventual champions PSV Eindhoven in the grand finale.
Standing in their way is the challenge of an opposing outfit that are without defeat in the last four editions of this fixture, while also conceding just one goal across the most recent three meetings between the teams.
However, Tuesday's hosts will head into the encounter off the back of only one defeat in 11 home matches across all competitions either side of a 4-3 defeat to Ajax, which remains their only home defeat since October.
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Having been handed automatic qualification into the round of 64, FC Utrecht just about did enough to see off Lisse in their opening cup involvement of the season, after which they claimed an emphatic 8-0 demolition of AFC to make it consecutive KNVB-Beker victories over lower league sides.
Taking on RKC Waalwijk in their first all top-flight tie this term, Ron Jans's men recovered from an early setback to mount a second-half turnaround thanks to Sebastian Haller's double after Richonell Margaret had broken the deadlock.
Like Heracles, Utrecht have also been held to three straight draws in their subsequent Eredivisie outings since the aforementioned win over Waalwijk, and that has somewhat derailed their title challenge as they now sit six points behind Ajax and a further two behind leaders PSV Eindhoven.
Returning to the KNVB-Beker last eight for the second time in three years, De Domstedelingen will now set out to go one better than their 2023 campaign which ended in a disappointing 4-1 defeat at the hands of Spakenburg.
Tuesday's affair kicks off a relatively light February schedule as it stands for the visitors, who take on Almere City in their next league outing on Sunday before potentially closing out the month with a mammoth clash against PSV six days later.
Team News
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Nikolai Laursen continues his battle with a knee problem and will not play any part here, while Sava-Arangel Cestic is also unavailable for Tuesday due to an ankle problem.
Stijn Bultman still awaits his first outing of the season due to a long-term injury problem, and the 20-year-old is joined on the hosts' treatment table by Mario Engels.
Miguel Rodriguez and Noah Ohio are ruled out for Utrecht due to groin and foot injuries respectively, with the latter still awaiting his first outing since the middle of December.
Rickson Van Hees is also out of contention here due to a knee problem, but the American is edging increasingly closer to making a return to action for the away side.
Meanwhile, Mike van der Hoorn is back available to feature once again having served a one-game suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards against PEC Zwolle last time out.
Heracles possible starting lineup:
De Keijzer; Rots, Mesik, Mirani, Wieckhoff; Zamburek, Van Kaam; Podgoreanu, Bruns, Talvitie; Hornkamp
FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:
Barkas; El Karouani, Viergever, Didden, Engwanda; Iqbal, Fraulo; Cathline, Aaronson, Descotte; Haller
We say: Heracles 1-2 FC Utrecht
Both teams need no added incentive heading into this one as they battle it out for a semi-final berth, and a thrilling affair is expected here.
That said, we just about fancy the away side to edge out their hosts and get the job done.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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