RKC Waalwijk will be looking to claim back-to-back Eredivisie victories for the first time this season when they welcome Fortuna Sittard to the Mandemakers Stadion on Sunday.
The visitors, meanwhile, will be hoping to avoid a fifth successive game without a win across all competitions.
Match preview
After winning their first Eredivisie game of the New Year against Go Ahead Eagles last weekend, RKC Waalwijk progressed into the quarter-finals of the KNVB Cup when they won 4-2 after extra time against Den Haag on Tuesday.
Jens Odgaard scored a 75th-minute equaliser to level the scores at 2-2 and take the tie into extra time, before the 22-year-old substitute completed his hat-trick with strikes in the 105th and 116th minutes to help the hosts reach the last eight for the first time in 10 years.
Joseph Oosting's men now turn their attention back to the Eredivisie where they currently sit 14th in the table and five points above the relegation playoff position.
Waalwijk have failed to win any of their last six meetings with Fortuna Sittard, but with the visitors struggling for form of late, they will fancy their chances of success this weekend.
Fortuna, meanwhile, are currently sitting five points adrift of safety, after losing their 12th league game of the season last weekend to AZ Alkmaar.
Goals either side of half time from Sam Beukema and Yukinari Sugawara gave the visitors a two-goal advantage before Ben Rienstra reduced the deficit in the 85th minute, however, AZ held on to claim all three points.
Sjors Ultee's side have won only one of their last 11 games across all competitions, which was a slender 1-0 win away at basement club PEC Zwolle last month.
Even though spirits will be understandably low at present, Fortuna can head into Sunday's game with confidence of claiming a positive result, as they have won three and drawn three of their last six league encounters with Waaljwik, scoring 17 goals in the process.
- D
- W
- L
- L
- D
- W
- L
- W
- L
- D
- W
- W
- L
- L
- W
- D
- L
- L
- L
- W
- L
- D
- L
- L
Team News
Waalwijk midfielder Sebbe Augustijns is ruled out due to injury, while goalkeeper Joel Pereira and forward David Min are both doubtful and will be assessed ahead of kickoff.
Oosting is expected to recall a number of first-team regulars to his starting lineup, following their cup win in midweek, with Odegaard, Etienne Vaessen, Vurnon Anita and Michiel Kramer among those set to start.
As for Fortuna Sittard, Lisandro Semedo is away with Cape Verde at the Africa Cup of Nations, while Samy Baghdadi heads into this game as the only injury doubt for Ultee's side.
Ultee may decide to switch from a 5-3-2 formation to a more familiar 4-2-3-1 system, which would likely see Andreas Samaris and Arianit Ferati replaced by Tijjani Noslin and Tesfaldet Tekie.
RKC Waalwijk possible starting lineup:
Vaessen; Meulensteen, Nieupoort, Buijs; Gaari, Anita, Azhi, Buttner; Bel Hassani; Kramer, Odegaard
Fortuna Sittard possible starting lineup:
Van Osch; Tipran, Angha, Janssen, Cox; Rienstra, Tekie; Noslin, Duarte, Seuntjens; Flemming
We say: RKC Waalwijk 3-2 Fortuna Sittard
While Fortuna Sittard's record against Waalwijk will provide them with a much-needed boost ahead of this weekend's game, the hosts are in better form than their counterparts and should be considered the favourites to claim all three points.
Plenty of goalmouth action is to be expected at the Mandemakers Stadion and we can see Waalwijk edging out the visitors to secure their first win against them since April 2017.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a RKC Waalwijk win with a probability of 57.87%. A draw had a probability of 22.9% and a win for Fortuna Sittard had a probability of 19.24%.
The most likely scoreline for a RKC Waalwijk win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.62%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.5%) and 2-1 (9.84%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.88%), while for a Fortuna Sittard win it was 0-1 (6.02%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.8% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that RKC Waalwijk would win this match.
