SBV Excelsior will be looking to make it back to back wins when they welcome FC Utrecht to Van Donge & De Roo Stadion in round 19 of the 2023-24 Eredivisie season.
On the other hand, the away side make the trip to Rotterdam aiming to end a run of five matches without a victory across all competitions.
Match preview
Excelsior returned to winning ways in grand style as they cruised to an emphatic 3-0 victory against Heerenveen in Friday's meeting between the teams.
Marinus Dijkhuizen's men opened the scoring through Couhaib Driouech and doubled their advantage before the interval through Troy Parrott before Lazaros Lamprou put the final nail in the coffin just past the hour mark.
Consequently, the Kralingers have moved up to ninth place in the Eredivisie table, five points adrift of Sparta Rotterdam in the race for continental qualification.
Awaiting them next is the challenge of an opposing outfit who are unbeaten in the last 10 editions of this fixture across all competitions dating back to 2016.
Off the back of a first win in six home matches last time out, Saturday's hosts now go in search of consecutive victories in front of their fans for the first time since October.
FC Utrecht battled hard to come away with a share of the spoils from their encounter against PSV Eindhoven at the Stadion Galgenwaard on Sunday.
Ron Jans's men fell behind to Johan Bakayoko's early strike before restoring parity through Othman Boussaid eight minutes into the second period.
With 19 points amassed from their 18 matches to date, the Domstedelingen sit 14th in the standings, five points clear of relegation danger.
Unbeaten in four of their last five matches on the road, Saturday's visitors have proven themselves to be a tough nut to crack away from home of late.
Team News
Utrecht's Zidane Iqbal is unavailable for this one as he remains on international duty with Iraq at the ongoing Asian Cup, while Anthony Descotte continues to nurse a knee injury.
The away side will also be without the services of forward Marouan Aazarkan, who has missed each of the last three matches with a head injury.
Dutch duo Raphael Eyongo and Lennard Hartjes will not play any part for Excelsior here as they are both sidelined with ankle and knee injuries respectively.
Twenty-two-year-old Serano Seymor also misses out for the home side through a foot problem and is joined on the sidelines by Jacky Donkor.
SBV Excelsior possible starting lineup:
Van Gassel; Zagre, El Yaakoubi, Widell, Horemans; Goudmijn, Baas; Driouech, Naujoks, Lamprou; Parrott
FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:
Barkas; Ter Avest, Van der Hoorn, Viergever, El Karouani; Toornstra, Flamingo, Fraulo; Booth, Lammers, Boussaid
We say: SBV Excelsior 1-1 FC Utrecht
Utrecht have endured a torrid campaign in front of goal, but we are backing them to find the back of the net here en route to a share of the spoils come the sound of the final whistle.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Adepoju Marvellous
