Matchday 20 in the Eredivisie will get underway at Asito Stadion in Almelo, where Heracles will be playing host to high-flyers FC Utrecht on Friday night.
A victory for Utrecht will see them cut the gap to second-placed Ajax to two points overnight, while a win for the visitors will move them seven clear of the bottom three.
Match preview
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Heracles have made a good start to the New Year, notching up two wins and a draw from three matches across all competitions, including a 2-0 victory over De Graafschap in the KNVB Beker to set up a quarter-final matchup against their upcoming opponents early next month.
Last weekend, Heraclieden earned their fourth league win of the season, beating relegation candidates Almere City 2-0 on the road thanks to goals by Mats Rots and Jizz Hornkamp in each half.
Maintaining consistency has been a major issue for Erwin van de Looi's side this season, though, and if they avoid defeat this weekend, it would be only the second time they have gone three league games without losing since October 2023.
They have also struggled in this fixture in recent times, with the reverse match ending in a 1-0 loss at Stadion Galgenwaard, marking their third consecutive defeat against this opponent dating back to September 2023.
On a positive note, the hosts have been a tough team to overcome on their home patch, currently unbeaten in their last four, while their only top-flight defeats at Asito Stadion this term were to PSV and Ajax.
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Meanwhile, Utrecht kept their unbeaten record in the New Year intact with a goalless draw at home to AZ Alkmaar last weekend, which followed a 2-1 victory over RKC Waalwijk in the domestic cup round of 16.
The Cupfighters also secured an against-the-odds victory over Feyenoord in their first game of the year, bouncing back superbly from that 5-2 shock defeat to Fortuna Sittard ahead of the December break.
Notably, Utreg had scored two or more goals in seven consecutive league games before last weekend's stalemate, which was also the first time they failed to find the net since the back end of October.
The visitors have been sensational on the road this season, unbeaten away from home over the first half of the campaign, while the last time they tasted defeat on their travels in the top flight was at the end of March.
Team News
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Luka Kulenovic has missed the last four games across all competitions after sustaining an ankle injury in the loss to Feyenoord in mid-December, and he is still a couple of weeks away from a return.
Nikolai Laursen (cruciate ligament), Sava-Arangel Cestic (broken ankle) and Stijn Bultman (knee) have not featured at all for the hosts this season and will remain sidelined for the foreseeable future.
The visitors will be without two players for the trip to Almelo this weekend, with midfielder Can Bodogan and attacker Noah Ohio ruled out with a shin and foot injury respectively.
Borussia Dortmund loanee Sebastien Haller made his first league start for Utrecht after netting a brace in the cup win against RKC, and he will likely lead the line in this one with Jens Toornstra operating in the number 10 role.
Heracles possible starting lineup:
De Keijzer; Wieckhoff, Mirani, Mesik, Rots; De Keersmaecker, Scheperman; Engels, Bruns, Podgoreanu; Hornkamp
FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:
Barkas; Horemans, Viergever, Van der Hoorn, El Karouani; Iqbal, Aaronson, Jonathans, Cathline; Toornstra; Haller
We say: Heracles 1-2 FC Utrecht
With PSV and Ajax dropping points in the last few months, Utrecht have pulled themselves into the title race and can pile the pressure on the top two with a victory this weekend.
The visitors have been excellent on the road this season, still unbeaten after nine outings, and we feel they will extend that record with another victory in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
