Heracles will be looking to open up some daylight between themselves and the drop zone in the Eredivisie when they take on Fortuna Sittard at Asito Stadion on Saturday night.
After 14 games, the hosts are currently on 13 points, seven clear of second-bottom RKC Waalwijk but only two above Sparta Rotterdam in the relegation playoff spot.
Match preview
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Heracles have found wins hard to come by again this season and will enter matchday 14 of the campaign having only managed three league victories to date, while they have drawn four and lost seven of their remaining 11 games.
Last weekend, Heraclieden looked as though they had done enough to earn a hard-fought point away to AZ Alkmaar, but a Mayckel Lahdo strike in the final minute of regulation time denied them a share of the spoils.
That defeat marked HAFC's third consecutive match without victory, while they have only managed a single league win, which came against NAC Breda last month, in their last seven games.
Perhaps the more concerning thing for Erwin van de Looi, though, is that his side conceded a total of 16 goals during that period after only conceding 10 in their preceding seven top-flight matches since the start of the season.
However, on the positive side, Heracles have been fairly good when playing at home this term, earning nine of their 13 points at Asito Stadion (W2 D3 L2), with their only two defeats this season coming against formidable opponents in Ajax and PSV.
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Meanwhile, Fortuna Sittard withstood a barrage of pressure after they took a 1-0 lead against Feyenoord last week, but after holding firm for almost an hour, they were eventually breached in the 81st minute and were forced to share the points.
That result was Fortunezen's third consecutive league game without victory following back-to-back defeats to PEC Zwolle and Twente, which is a significant drop-off from going unbeaten in five games before that.
Additionally, their winless run has seen them slip two places in the league standings in the last couple of weeks, and if they are to start making ground up on the sides above them, Danny Buijs is going to need to find more attacking output from his side, as their 15 goals to date in the fewest in the top half of the table and the third-lowest in the division.
The last time these sides met in the league, the match ended in a goalless draw at this venue back in May this year, and Fortuna only won one of the previous three meetings while losing the other two.
Team News
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Heracles are likely to be without three players for this match, two of which are long-term absentees in Nikolai Laursen and Stijn Bultman, both of whom have not featured at all for the team this season.
Sava Cestic is still on the long road to recovering from a broken ankle, but Sem Scheperman has now featured on the bench in the last two matches following a spell on the sideline and could make the starting lineup this week.
Fortuna Sittard, meanwhile, will have to make do without two players this weekend, with Kaj Sierhuis only slated to make a comeback from a knee injury in February, while Onur Demir is still working his way back to full fitness.
Shawn Adewoye scored the visitors' only goal in the last match and has been an ever-present alongside Rodrigo Guth in central defence this season. The two are likely to pair up again this week and they should be joined in the back line by Ivo Pinto, who missed out last week with a knock.
Heracles possible starting lineup:
De Keijzer; Benita, Mirani, Mesik, Roosken; De Keersmaecker, Zamburek; Engels, Kulenovic, Podgoreanu, Hornkamp
Fortuna Sittard possible starting lineup:
Branderhorst; Pinto, Adewoye, Guth, Dijks; Halilovic, Fosso, Aiko, Bullaude, Bastien; Mitrovic
We say: Heracles 1-1 Fortuna Sittard
While Heracles have been far from impressive this season, they have been a tough team to beat when playing at home, with their only two defeats at Asito Stadion this term coming against Ajax and PSV.
Fortuna Sittard have failed to win any of their last six away games, losing three and drawing three, and we feel they will have to settle for a share of the spoils in the one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
