Sparta Rotterdam and Heracles meet at Het Kasteel for an Eredivisie clash on Saturday afternoon.
Both enter the fixture on the back of superb midweek wins that boosted the likelihood of them hitting their respective objectives this season.
Match preview
An impressive 4-1 victory at relegation-threatened Vitesse on Tuesday strengthened Sparta's push for a Europa Conference League playoff spot.
That was the second game in succession where Sparta have scored four, after thrashing Fortuna Sittard 4-0 last weekend here on home soil.
It was a much-needed reaction after a difficult run of games against four of the top six saw Jeroen Rijsdijk's side claim just two points.
Utrecht's 5-1 win over Zwolle the following day saw them drop back out of the top eight, but it remains very tight in the race for those UECL playoff places.
With Ajax set to finish outside the top four though, the other three clubs who join them in the playoffs will be hugely up against it, regardless of their troubles this season.
To break back into the top eight, Sparta must continue their run of home form, which has seen them claim eight points from their last four games here - scoring 11 goals.
That is in stark contrast to their run from November to early February, which saw them take just one point from five home matches.
Heracles come into the fixture aware of the fact they are winless in eight against the Rotterdam club and now on a three-game losing streak, including 1-0 in the reverse back in December.
A stunning win on Wednesday may provide the impetus to end that barren run over their upcoming opponents though, as a 5-0 thrashing of AZ Alkmaar boosted their hopes of survival.
Paired with Excelsior's defeat against PSV Eindhoven, that win saw Erwin van de Looi's men move seven points clear of the relegation playoff place and also saw them keep back-to-back home clean sheets.
They have been unable to transfer that form to fixtures on the road though, as they have lost their last five away from home, leaving them with the worst away record in the Eredivisie.
Team News
Tobias Lauritsen was forced off for Sparta inside 25 minutes of their win over Vitesse in midweek and may miss out here, with Charles-Andreas Brym set to come in.
Sparta will remain without Django Warmerdam and Joshua Kitolano in their other two injury absentees heading into this clash.
Thomas Bruns will return from suspension for Heracles, but a booking for Brian De Keersmaecker before scoring against AZ means the Belgian midfielder will miss out here.
The visitors have numerous injuries to deal with heading into this fixture, as Stijn Bultman, Emil Hansson, Sava Cestic, Diego van Oorschot, Jannes Wieckhoff and Nikolai Laursen are all absent for Van der Looi's side.
Sparta Rotterdam possible starting lineup:
Olij; Bakari, Vriends, Eerdhuijzen, Van der Kust; Metinho, Clement, Verschueren; Mito, Brym, Saito
Heracles possible starting lineup:
Brouwer; Bakboord, Sonnenberg, Hoogma, Oppegard; Bruns, Vejinovic, Scheperman; Hrustic, Hornkamp, Limbombe
We say: Sparta Rotterdam 2-1 Heracles
A win in midweek for Heracles moved them a comfortable distance away from trouble, but it will be difficult to follow that up here, especially given their woeful away form.
Sparta will be fully expecting to beat a side who have just eight away points this term, and that will see them reclaim a top-eight spot before Utrecht play on Sunday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
