Looking to take another step towards first-tier safety, Heracles will come welcome Heerenveen to Erve Asito on Sunday afternoon for an all-important Eredivisie clash.
Heraclieden managed a narrow success at the home of Sparta Rotterdam last time out, whilst De Superfriezen came out on the losing side of a five-goal thriller versus FC Utrecht.
Match preview
For the first time since early September, Heracles have recorded back-to-back wins in the Eredivisie to boost their chances of avoiding the drop, getting the better of AZ Alkmaar with a 5-0 victory on April 3 before securing a 2-1 win away at Sparta Rotterdam just three days later.
Heraclieden went behind at Sparta-Stadion Het Kasteel when Charles-Andreas Brym breached the net of Michael Brouwer, but the visitors were able to produce a spirited second-half comeback to steal all the points, with Justin Hoogma and Jizz Hornkamp making the net ripple.
After a run of one win in six prior to the start of April, Erwin van de Looi have now collected maximum points since the turn of the month and are currently occupying 13th place in the Eredivisie standings, eight points ahead of 16th-placed RKC Waalwijk who are set to face the dreaded relegation playoff.
As is the case with any newly-promoted side looking to survive their first season at a higher level, Heracles have needed to rely on their form at Erve Asito so far this term to keep them clear of danger, with Sunday's hosts collecting 21 of their 32 points in front of their home faithful.
Heerenveen's faint hopes of achieving a top-eight finish this season are all but over following a heartbreaking 3-2 loss at home to Utrecht last Sunday, when the hosts never looked like sealing a much-needed three points and clawing themselves back into the Europa Conference League picture.
A brace from Cupfighters attacker Sam Lammers and Isac Lidberg's first-half strike had the visitors three goals to the good at Abe Lenstra Stadion, meaning that a quick-fire double from Patrik Walemark was a mere consolation for a side who are seriously stuttering as the campaign draws to a close.
Since the comfortable 2-0 win over PEC Zwolle on March 3, De Superfriezen have endured a five-game winless run in the Eredivisie, collecting just two points across that time, leaving them 11th in the league table, nine points behind eighth-placed Utrecht with five matches left to play.
Heerenveen have enjoyed their three most-recent meetings with Heracles, winning a trio of matches against Heraclieden between 2021 and 2023, including a one-goal success at Erve Asito in December 2021, when a solitary strike from now-PSV Eindhoven star Joey Veerman was enough to seal three points for the visitors.
Team News
Heracles are without the services of midfielder Thomas Bruns, who is serving a suspension due to a yellow card picked up during the Sparta victory.
Last weekend's goalscorer Hoogma is in the same boat, having picked up a yellow during the win in Rotterdam in the closing moments of the contest.
Emil Hansson is a doubt for Sunday's clash, with the 25-year-old Swede sustaining an injury in the middle of March after providing 11 goal contributions in the Eredivisie so far.
After receiving his marching orders in the second half versus Utrecht, Heerenveen's Oliver Braude will be unavailable for the trip to Heracles on the weekend.
With the visitors in need of a new right-back for Sunday's match, Iraq international Hussein Ali is the obvious choice to enter the XI in the place of Braude.
Heracles possible starting lineup:
Brouwer; Bakboord, Sonnenberg, Willems, Oppegard; Leerdam, Vejinovic, Hrustic, Scheperman, Limbombe; Hornkamp
Heerenveen possible starting lineup:
Van de Hart; Ali, Van Beek, Bochniewicz, Kohlert; Haye, Olsson, Nunnely, Tahiri, Sahraoui; Van Amersfoort
We say: Heracles 2-0 Heerenveen
Heracles produced a five-goal performance during their last fixture at Erve Asito, and it could be a similar story for Heraclieden in this one.
Heerenveen are currently in a rut, and we cannot envisage the visitors earning anything from their trip to Almelo on Sunday afternoon.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
