Willem II and FC Twente get round 11 of the 2024-25 Eredivisie season underway with a meeting at the Koning Willem II Stadion on Saturday afternoon.
Both teams emerged victorious from their respective last outings, as Willem II successfully navigated their first domestic cup involvement while Twente secured a first league win in just under a month.
Match preview
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Seeking a much-needed return to winning ways, Twente delivered arguably their most impressive performance of the season in Sunday's commanding 5-0 triumph over Heracles at De Grolsch Veste.
Joseph Oosting's men needed a stroke of luck to take the lead as Mimeirhel Benita turned the ball past his own goalkeeper seven minutes shy of half time before Anass Salah-Eddine, Mees Hilgers, Sam Lammers and Michel Vlap all got on the scoresheet.
That was a perfect response from the Tukkers following a 2-0 defeat to Serie A outfit Lazio, which saw their winless run stretch to four matches across all competitions dating back to a 1-0 win over newly promoted NAC Breda.
Twente's five-goal glut last time out saw their attacking output go up to 21, meaning that only PSV Eindhoven (35) have scored goals this term, while their defensive tally of nine goals conceded is only bettered by the current top two of PSV and Ajax.
Ahead of a crunch Europa League clash against Nice on Thursday, Saturday's visitors will now be looking to pick up consecutive wins as they look to gather some momentum before the international break takes centre stage.
While Twente have recorded just one victory from their last five matches on the road, their record against this weekend's opponents offers some cause for optimism, with no defeats from the most recent four meetings.
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Willem II just about managed to save themselves from what would have been an embarrassing KNVB-Beker exit to lower league side Genemuiden in Wednesday's encounter at Sportpark De Wetering.
After trailing by two at half time thanks to Arend van de Wetering and Rutger Etten, Peter Maes's men got themselves back on level terms through a Kyan Vaesen brace before Raffael Behounek completed the turnaround in extra time.
Prior to that, De Superkruiken suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Ajax at the Johan Cruyff ArenA on Sunday, when a Davy Klaassen sixth-minute penalty proved to be the decisive moment in a tight affair in Amsterdam.
Willem II will be hoping their cup victory in midweek serves as the driving force for an upturn in form on the Eredivisie front having picked up just four of the last 15 points available leading up to Saturday's contest.
Currently sitting 10th in the standings, Willem II have fallen off the pace in recent weeks after their fine start to the season that yielded five points from the opening three matches, including a 1-1 draw against Feyenoord to kick off proceedings.
Team News
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Erik Schouten remains unavailable for Willem II, and the 33-year-old is still facing an extended spell on the sidelines despite being out of contention since May.
Dani Mathieu (knock) and Niels van Berkel (knee) are also unfit to play any part in this one, with the former not expected to return to action until July 2025.
Forward Kyan Vaesen is on course to return to the hosts' starting lineup for this weekend's affair after his eye-catching two-goal haul off the bench last time out.
Moroccan Younes Taha is a guaranteed absentee for FC Twente here with a broken tibia and is set to remain on the treatment table for the rest of the year.
Michal Sadilek is also unavailable for the away side due to a laceration, but Daan Rots recently made his comeback from a groin injury he picked up against Feyenoord earlier this month.
Willem II possible starting lineup:
Didillon; Sigurgeirsson, St Jago, Behounek, Lambert, Tirpan; Meerveld, Lackhar, Bosch; Vaesen, Sandra
FC Twente possible starting lineup:
Unnerstall; Salah-Eddine, Bruns, Hilgers, Van Rooy; Vlap, Regeer; Ltaief, Steijn, Rots; Lammers
We say: Willem II 1-3 FC Twente
Willem II were a tad lucky to have escaped a cup exit on Wednesday, but there will be a smaller margin for error in this weekend's matchup against a Twente side brimming with confidence.
We are backing the visitors to emerge victorious come the end of the 90 minutes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
