With just a single point separating at the bottom end of the Eredivisie table, RKC Waalwijk and Heracles will do battle in a key contest at the Mandemakers Stadion on Friday.
The hosts currently sit in the relegation playoff place after 16 rounds of league games, while their opponents are slightly better off in 15th spot despite suffering three straight defeats.
Match preview
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RKC Waalwijk will return to action for the first time in 2024 on Friday with the aim of jumping back out of the bottom three in the Eredivisie table, having endured a tough first half to the campaign last year.
After finishing ninth in the Dutch top flight last time around, they picked up just 14 points from their first 16 outings this term, managing four victories while suffering 10 defeats, with the most recent of their three-point hauls coming from a 2-1 triumph away at PEC Zwolle in late November.
They were unable to add any further notches to their wins column in the following four attempts in December, though, firstly being held to a 2-2 draw at home to Excelsior, despite leading 2-0 heading into the final 20 minutes, before suffering 3-2 and 1-0 losses at the hands of Ajax and Fortuna Sittard.
Aiming to put that disappointment behind them and move further clear of the bottom three ahead of the break around the festive period and new year, Henk Fraser's side most recently travelled to take on FC Utrecht and came away with a creditable point from a 1-1 draw, as Michiel Kramer drew them level on the stroke of half time after Victor Jensen had their hosts ahead.
That result was not enough to keep RKC Waalwijk outside of the bottom three heading into the break, though, as an Almere City victory saw Fraser's men drop into the relegation playoff place, and they will now aim to quickly move back out of the drop zone on their return to action on Friday with their visitors just a point better off and Almere only two ahead.
The away side, meanwhile, will aim to bounce back from a tough run of their own on the return to action and extend that gap down to the 16th-placed hosts on Friday.
After winning promotion from the Eerste Divisie last time around, Heracles have endured a tough start to life back in the Dutch top flight, consistently finding themselves around the foot of the table having amassed 15 points from their 16 games thus far.
On the back of a four-match winless run across October and November which left them 14th on 12 points from 12 outings, the Heraclieden bounced back in style to move slightly clear of danger with a 5-0 thrashing of Almere City on their travels, thanks to Mohamed Sankoh's hat-trick and an Abdenego Nankishi's brace, but they were unable to build an improved run last month and headed into the break on the back of three more defeats on the bounce.
John Lammers's side firstly fell short at the hands of Sparta Rotterdam and Vitesse, losing 1-0 and 2-0 respectively, before most recently hosting high-flying Feyenoord before the break and dropping further into danger with a 4-0 beating, as Calvin Stengs netted an early brace before Lutsharel Geertruida and Quinten Timber put the game out of sight with second-half goals before the hour mark.
As a result of their dip in form, Heracles have quickly dropped back below Utrecht and Almere City into 15th spot in the Dutch top flight, and now only leading their hosts by a single point and the automatic drop zone by four, they will be desperate to give their current standing and survival hopes a boost with a much-needed win in their first competitive outing of the new year.
Team News
RKC Waalwijk may opt to deploy the same starting XI from their 1-1 draw away at Utrecht before the break, with captain Michiel Kramer bound to again lead the line in a 4-2-3-1 shape after netting his fourth league goal of the season to level that game.
He could have support from the trio of Denilho Cleonise, Reuven Niemeijer and Chris Lokesa, although Manchester City loanee Filip Stevanovic is vying to come back in from the outset on the wing.
Elsewhere, Yassin Oukili, who leads their scoring charts with five goals in 15 league appearances this term, should again be joined by Godfried Roemeratoe in midfield, while Dario Van den Buijs and Shawn Adewoye will partner up at the heart of the back four.
After being reduced to a substitute appearance in their meeting with Feyenoord before the break, Mohamed Sankoh should return from the start to lead the Heracles line on Friday, having notched up four Eredivisie goals so far this term.
If Lammers sticks with a 4-4-2 shape, he should partner Mario Engels, while Emil Hansson will look to cause further problems from the left wing, having managed four goals of his own alongside two assists in 16 league appearances this season.
Brian De Keersmaecker is a mainstay in the engine room and could be partnered by Anas Ouahim, while Justin Hoogma and Sven Sonnenberg will likely continue in the middle of the defence.
RKC Waalwijk possible starting lineup:
Vaessen; Lelieveld, Adewoye, Van Den Buijs, Meijers; Oukili, Roemeratoe; Cleonise, Niemeijer, Stevanovic; Kramer
Heracles possible starting lineup:
Brouwer; Wieckhoff, Sonnenberg, Hoogma, Roosken; Limbombe, Ouahim, De Keersmaecker, Hansson; Engels, Sankoh
We say: RKC Waalwijk 1-1 Heracles
With both sides boasting similar amounts of quality and having experienced almost identical campaigns thus far, we anticipate a close and hard-fought encounter on Friday.
Given the high stakes in the fight for survival, both will be desperate to avoid defeat on their return to action, and we see a low-scoring draw as the most likely outcome.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Sam Varley
