Two sides separated by just three points in the middle of the Eredivisie table will do battle on Saturday, as Sparta Rotterdam welcome Fortuna Sittard to the Sparta Stadion.
Thanks to an impressive run of form before the international break, the visitors leapfrogged their hosts and moved into the top half with eight games left to play.
Match preview
Sparta Rotterdam return from the international break on Saturday with the aim of reversing their fortunes, having endured a dip in form in the weeks prior in what has been a mixed Eredivisie campaign thus far.
Aiming to build on last season's memorable sixth-placed finish, De Kasteelheren impressed in the first half of the campaign in the Dutch top flight, picking up 25 points from their opening 17 outings until mid-January, winning seven of those while only suffering six defeats.
Their form has certainly taken a downward turn in recent months, though, having added just one more notch to their wins column and six more points to their tally in the last nine attempts, firstly losing three in a four-match span before scoring their only win in that rut over Excelsior in mid-February.
Jeroen Rijsdijk's side failed to build on that result and headed into the break in the midst of another four-match winless run, suffering defeats to NEC and Twente either side of a draw with AZ Alkmaar, before most recently hosting Ajax and taking a creditable point from a 2-2 draw, albeit in disappointing fashion having gone 2-0 up through Arno Verschueren's brace, only for Chuba Akpom and Steven Bergwijn to pull their visitors level in the final 25 minutes.
While they can take some confidence from their recent results on home turf, having come from behind to beat Excelsior and shared points with two of the division's top five in their last three outings at the Sparta Stadion, Sparta Rotterdam's poor run in recent months has seen them drop out of the top half and down to 10th spot with eight games to go, and they will now bid to bounce back and regain ninth place on their return to action on Saturday.
Their visitors, meanwhile, will aim to extend their lead over the hosts at the weekend, having moved into the top half at their expense with an improved run before the break.
Aiming to again steer clear of the threat of relegation after a 13th-placed finish last season, Fortuna Sittard looked set for a tough run-in, as back-to-back defeats in February left them on just 24 points from 22 league matches, having only won six of those while suffering 10 defeats.
Danny Buijs's side were then able to reverse their fortunes in style and quickly scale the division, though, picking up 10 more points from their final four games before the recent break and going unbeaten, as they firstly triumphed away at RKC Waalwijk and thrashed Excelsior 5-2 on home turf.
A 2-2 draw away at Ajax followed, in which they were also pegged back by a late leveller through Brian Brobbey, before Fortunezen bounced back in impressive fashion last time out, beating PEC Zwolle 3-1 at Offermans Joosten Stadion with Kaj Sierhuis, Justin Lonwijk and Alessio Da Cruz putting them three goals ahead before Lennart Thy netted an injury-time consolation for the visitors.
Having now turned their tough standing at the bottom end of the division into a top-half place with eight games to go, Fortuna Sittard will aim to pick up where they left off before the break on their return to action on Saturday and continue their climb with a fourth win in five games.
Team News
Despite the recent international break, Sparta Rotterdam are set to remain without midfielder Joshua Kitolano and defender Django Warmerdam, as they continue spells in the treatment room.
They will likely field an unchanged starting XI from the 2-2 draw with Ajax before that break, with Arno Verschueren bound to continue in an advanced midfield role after hitting his sixth and seventh Eredivisie goals of the season in that game.
Tobias Lauritsen, who has also found the net seven times in the top flight this term, will lead the line, while Metinho and Pelle Clement will hope to continue their midfield partnership despite competition from veteran Jonathan de Guzman.
Fortuna Sittard may also be unchanged from their final game before the break, given their run of results, although Alessio Da Cruz has a claim to come into the attack from the outset after netting his first league goal of the season in their win over PEC Zwolle last time out.
Kaj Sierhuis will lead the line with plenty of confidence, having found the net in four consecutive Eredivisie games, scoring six goals across those games to take his tally to 11 for the season, while winger Justin Lonwijk has been another danger man since his January loan arrival and will bid to add to his tallies of two goals and two assists in eight top-flight matches.
Deroy Duarte is a mainstay in midfield in their 4-2-3-1 shape, and he is bound to continue in the engine room on his return from international duty for Cape Verde, with Oguzhan Ozyakup again set to join him.
Sparta Rotterdam possible starting lineup:
Olij; Bakari, Meissen, Eerdhuijzen, Van Der Kust; Metinho, Clement; Mito, Verschueren, Saito; Lauritsen
Fortuna Sittard possible starting lineup:
Verrips; Pinto, Guth, Siovas, Dijks; Ozyakup, Duarte; Lonwijk, Da Cruz, Cordoba; Sierhuis
We say: Sparta Rotterdam 1-2 Fortuna Sittard
Fortuna Sittard showed plenty of encouraging signs before the break, while their hosts struggled despite a creditable draw with Ajax last time out.
Given the shifting momentum between the two mid-table teams, we anticipate Fortunezen coming out on top and stretching the gap on Saturday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
