Heracles take on FC Utrecht at the Erve Asito Stadium on Saturday evening, as they look to continue their impressive start to the Eredivisie season.
The hosts will commence proceedings seventh in the table, while the visitors are currently in 16th place.
Match preview
Heracles did not get off to the best of starts to the season, although they could not have asked for a trickier game to kick off with, losing 4-1 away at Ajax on the opening day of the campaign.
Since then, however, the signs have been very positive, with HAFC winning their last two games, both of which came at home, which should give them confidence heading into Saturday's match.
John Lammers's side went 1-0 down against NEC in their opening home match, but Emil Hansson's goal just after the hour mark instigated a turnaround, with Anas Ouahim bagging the winner less than 15 minutes later.
In their last match, Heracles once again displayed their ability to win games from behind, coming from a goal down to defeat Excelsior 3-1, with Bryan Limbombe, Justin Hoogma and Mohamed Sankoh getting on the scoresheet.
All the signs are positive for Heracles heading into this weekend's game, particularly considering they have a good recent record at home against their upcoming opponents, winning the last two matches between the two sides at Erve Asito.
Not only that, but FC Utrecht have endured a disastrous start to the campaign, losing their opening four games, meaning they currently occupy the relegation playoff spot.
Utrecht have been poor defensively, conceding 10 goals during that time, but their main issue has been their lack of attacking quality, having only managed to find the back of the net on one occasion.
As such, the board have acted swiftly to part ways with manager Michael Silberbauer, and it will be Ron Jans's first match in the dugout on Saturday, with the former FC Twente boss making a quick return to management, having left the fellow Eredivisie side in the summer.
The new manager will be looking for a good response after a particularly poor performance in the last match, with FC Utrecht falling to a 5-1 victory at home against Feyenoord.
Team News
Heracles have looked very impressive in their last two games, so there is no reason for Lammers to make wholesale changes, but he could hand a start to Sankoh after the striker scored his first goal for the club as a substitute last time out.
The only absentees for HAFC are Nicolai Laursen, who has been ruled out for the long-term with a knee injury, and Jizz Hornkamp, with the forward missing the last two matches.
Taylor Booth is the only FC Utrecht player out with injury, with the American missing the last three matches, meaning Mats Seuntjens is expected to keep his place at left-wing.
Jans may choose to make a few changes to his new side after suffering a heavy defeat in the last match, and Ole ter Haar Romeny is in line for a start in attack, potentially coming in for Isac Lidberg.
Heracles possible starting lineup:
Brouwer; Bakboord, Sonnenberg, Hoogma, Willems; De Keersmaecker, Engels, Ouahim; Limbombe, Satriano, Hansson
FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:
Barkas; Ter Avest, Van Der Hoorn, Sagnan, El Karouani; Bozdogan, Flamingo, Toornstra; Azarkan, Seuntjens, Lidberg
We say: Heracles 1-0 FC Utrecht
FC Utrecht will be hoping for a new manager bounce after the recent appointment of Jans, but it may take time for the former Twente boss to turn around the form of his struggling side.
As such, we expect the visitors to continue their impressive form at Erve Asito, making it three wins on the bounce on home soil.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Dominic Lund
