Separated by just one point in the bottom half of the Eredivisie table, Willem II and Heerenveen will do battle in an important contest at the Koning Willem II Stadion.
The visited extended their lead over the relegation playoff place to four points with a draw last Friday, while their hosts have dropped to 11th spot in the midst of a tricky spell.
Match preview
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Willem II head into the weekend aiming to climb back towards the Eredivisie's top half, having slipped down the table in recent weeks due to a tough run of form.
After winning promotion from the Dutch second tier last time around, the Tricolores enjoyed a pleasing start to the top-flight campaign, sitting eighth after nine outings having earned 12 points including three wins and just three defeats.
They have since put just one more victory and four more points in the last five attempts since late October though, firstly suffering back-to-back defeats to Ajax and Twente before picking up an impressive 2-1 away win over AZ Alkmaar.
After then coming from behind to draw 2-2 with NAC Breda thanks to an injury-time Jeremy Bokila leveller, Peter Maes's side most recently visited strugglers Groningen last Friday and left empty-handed as Thijs Oosting and Stije Resink netted goals either side of the interval in a 2-0 home win.
As a result of their dip in form, Willem II now sit 11th in their first season back in the Eredivisie, but with a five-point cushion over the drop zone and a two-point gap up to the top half, they will hope to quickly improve their standing again with a return to winning ways on Sunday.
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Their visitors, meanwhile, will bid to leapfrog the hosts and move further clear of the bottom three at the weekend having strengthened their position in the fight for survival recently.
After nine games of the Eredivisie campaign, Heerenveen sat in the relegation playoff place on just eight points, but they have since added seven more points to that tally in five further attempts, picking up 2-0 and 1-0 wins at home to Sparta Rotterdam and Go Ahead Eagles respectively alongside away defeats to Fortuna Sittard and Feyenoord.
Indeed, away form is certainly an issue for Robin Van Persie's side, who have lost all seven of their league games on the road this term, conceding 23 goals and only scoring twice along the way, while they remain unbeaten on home turf.
After that most recent 3-0 loss to third-placed Feyenoord, De Superfriezen most recently hosted then-basement-side RKC Waalwijk last Friday and looked set to pick up a 1-0 victory thanks to Levi Smans's first-half goal, only to be held to a disappointing draw as Mohamed Ihattaren converted an injury-time penalty for the visitors.
Having now moved four points clear of the bottom three with their recent upturn in form, Heerenveen will now bid to end their dismal run away from home and pick up a first victory on their travel to move further into the mid-table pack.
Team News
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Willem II continue to deal with several injury issues heading into the weekend, with defender Valentino Vermeulen, midfielder Dani Mathieu and winger Amar Fatah remaining confined to the treatment room.
Westerlo loanee Kyan Vaesen will continue to lead their attack, having netted a team-high tally of six goals in 15 appearances this term.
Cisse Sandra and Ringo Meerveld will offer further attacking support in their 4-2-3-1 setup, while Amine Lachkar should again get the nod alongside Jesse Bosch in the engine room.
Robin van Persie should field field a similar Heerenveen starting XI from last week's draw with RKC Waalwijk, with Levi Smans bound to continue in the middle of a supporting trio in a 4-2-3-1 shape after netting the opening goal in that game.
He will be joined by Alireza Jahanbakhsh, who made his first start for the club last week having recently arrived on a free transfer after last turning out for Feyenoord last season, although winger Jacob Trenskow, who leads the squad with five goals alongside three assists in 15 games this season, will likely miss out after being forced off in the first half against RKC Waalwijk.
Willem II possible starting lineup:
Didillon-Hodl; Tirpan, St. Jago, Behounek, Nizet; Lachkar, Bosch; Kehrer, Sandra, Meerveld; Vaesen
Heerenveen possible starting lineup:
Van Der Hart; Kersten, Hopland, Bochniewicz, Braude; Van Ee, Brouwers; Sebaoui, Smans, Jahanbakhsh; Nicolaescu
We say: Willem II 1-0 Heerenveen
Heerenveen's away form is certainly a cause for concern having not yet picked up a point on the road this term, and as a result we back Willem II to make a return to winning ways and begin climbing back up the table on Sunday.
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Sam Varley
