Round 21 of the 2023-24 Eredivisie campaign sees SBV Excelsior and FC Twente go head-to-head at Van Donge & De Roo Stadion on Saturday evening.
The hosts will be looking to complete a league double over their hosts having run out 4-2 winners in this season's reverse fixture back in December.
Match preview
FC Twente snapped a run of three games without a win by comprehensively seeing off the threat of RKC Waalwijk thanks to a 3-0 victory at De Grolsch Veste on Saturday.
Joseph Oosting's men got their noses in front through Ricky van Wolfswinkel before late goals from Myron Boadu and Younes Taha put the clash to bed.
As a result, the Tukkers remain third in the Eredivisie table, five points behind Feyenoord and a further five adrift of leaders PSV Eindhoven.
Coming up next is the challenge of an opposing outfit who have come out on top in just one of the last six meetings between the teams since 2017.
Having failed to score in consecutive away games leading up to Saturday's affair, the visitors will need to get going at the top end of the pitch if they are to come away with maximum points on the road.
Excelsior were on the receiving end of a 2-1 defeat against Almere City when the sides faced off at the Yanmar Stadion on Friday evening.
Marinus Dijkhuizen's men opened the scoring just shy of the half-hour mark through Troy Parrott but conceded a 43rd-minute leveller to Stije Resink before Casper Widell turned the ball past his own goalkeeper to decide the contest.
With 21 points amassed from 20 league matches so far, the Kralingers sit 12th in the standings, three points shy of a place in the top half.
Currently on a run of one win from their last seven home games, Saturday's hosts now set out to turn things around in front of their fans.
Team News
Raphael Eyongo and Lennard Hartjes are unavailable for Excelsior here as they remain sidelined with ankle and knee injuries respectively.
Twenty-five-year-old Jacky Donkor is also an absentee for the home side through a damaged knee, which has seen him miss over six months of action.
Twente's Myron Boadu found the back of the net within 60 seconds of coming on as a substitute last time and could be rewarded with a place in the starting XI.
Max Bruns will be pushing for an immediate return to action this weekend after fully serving his suspension for a red card against NEC Nijmegen.
SBV Excelsior possible starting lineup:
Van Gassel; Pierie, Widell, El Yaakoubi; Zagre, Goudmijn, Baas, Horemans; Uddenas, Parrott, Driouech
FC Twente possible starting lineup:
Unnerstall; Brenet, Hilgers, Propper, Smal; Kjolo, Sadilek; Vlap, Steijn, Rots; Van Wolfswinkel
We say: SBV Excelsior 1-2 FC Twente
Given Excelsior's home struggles and Twente's bad form on the road, Saturday's contest could easily swing either way, but we are backing the visitors to just about get the job done in the end.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
