VVV-Venlo travel to face Fortuna Sittard on Saturday, aiming to go above their hosts in the Eredivisie table by picking up all three points.
Both sides have recorded 22 points from the first 19 games, but Fortuna are a place ahead of their visitors due to their superior goal difference.
Match preview
Fortuna come into Saturday's match in fine form, having won six and drawn one of their last nine Eredivisie games stretching back to December.
Sjors Ultee's men were in 17th place at the start of that run, but they have since moved up five places into 12th, pulling well away from relegation danger in the process.
The win over RKC Waalwijk on Wednesday was their third in a row on the road, which is a vast improvement from the solitary victory picked up in the first seven.
As things stand, Fortunezen are on course for their highest league finish since gaining promotion back in 2018, but the home form still needs working on.
Alongside Ajax, VVV are the only unbeaten team in the last five rounds of the Eredivisie and surprisingly, they have managed more points than the league leaders in that time.
For the second time this year, Giorgos Giakoumakis has netted four goals in a game, as his side humbled Vitesse 4-1 on Wednesday.
The Greek striker has become the first player to hit 20 league goals this term, putting him on course to claim the top-scorer award at the end of the season.
For a man only in his debut season in Dutch football, he has wasted no time settling down, much to the relief of the VVV faithful, who have found good strikers hard to come by of late.
Hans De Koning's men are one of four teams currently tied on 22 points, and they could go as high as 10th if results elsewhere go their way.
Fortuna Sittard Eredivisie form: WWLWLW
Fortuna Sittard form (all competitions): WLWLLW
VVV-Venlo Eredivisie form: LWWDWW
VVV-Venlo form (all competitions): WWDWWW
Team News
Not too often do two teams go into a game with no injury concerns, but Fortuna and Venlo both have clean bills of health ahead of their meeting.
However, Sebastian Polter will be ineligible to play as he serves the second of his three-game ban after he was sent off in Fortuna's defeat to Ajax on Sunday.
Zinedine Machach got the nod in VVV's win against Vitesse, but Joshua John is expected to come back into the team for this one.
Giannis Giakoumakis will be looking to add to his tally against a Fortuna side whose defensive record only betters four teams in the division.
Fortuna Sittard possible starting lineup:
Van Osch; Cox, Tirpan, Angha, Rota; Hansson, Rienstra, Tekie, Semedo; Seuntjens, Flemming
VVV-Venlo possible starting lineup:
Kirschbaum; Guwara, Da Graca, Gelmi, Pachonik; Linthorst, Donis, Post; Van Crooy, Giakoumakis, John
We say: Fortuna Sittard 1-2 VVV-Venlo
VVV are the most in-form Eredivisie team at the moment, and they should have enough to see off the challenge of Fortuna, who are also enjoying a good run of their own.
Top betting tip
Adepoju Marvellous
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 Fortuna Sittard win with a probability of 38.17%. A win for VVV-Venlo had a probability of 36.99% and a draw had a probability of 24.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Fortuna Sittard win was 2-1 with a probability of 8.46%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (8.12%) and 2-0 (5.92%). The likeliest VVV-Venlo win was 1-2 (8.31%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.61%). The actual scoreline of 3-2 was predicted with a 2.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Fortuna Sittard would win this match.
