Two teams who have punched significantly above their weight go head to head in round 29 of the 2022-23 Eredivisie season as Sparta Rotterdam and Heerenveen face off at the Sparta Stadion Het Kasteel on Saturday.
The hosts go in search of a fifth win in six games, while their visitors will be looking to make it five games across all competitions without a defeat.
Match preview
Sparta secured a third consecutive triumph away from home following a 1-0 victory over AZ Alkmaar at the AFAS Stadion on Saturday evening.
Tobias Lauritsen opened the scoring in the first-half stoppage time and that was enough to hand Maurice Steijn's men all three points in a hard-fought contest.
While De Kasteelheren remain sixth in the Eredivisie table, they have now opened up a sizeable 14-point cushion over the teams just outside the Conference League playoff places.
Next up is the challenge of an opposing outfit who have been beaten in just one of the last nine editions of this fixture, stretching back to 2017.
With games against FC Twente and PSV Eindhoven to follow this weekend's clash, Saturday's hosts will be seeking to set the tone with a dominant display in front of their fans.
Heerenveen came out on top on home turf for the first time since late January as they eased past the threat of Volendam in a 2-1 win at the Abe Lenstra Stadion on Saturday.
Sydney van Hooijdonk opened the scoring five minutes in to give Kees van Wonderen's men the lead after which Henk Veerman restored parity in the 18th minute, only for Veerman to grab his second of the game just past the half-hour mark.
Amassing 38 points from their 28 matches so far, De Superfriezen are eighth in the standings, three points clear of RKC Waalwijk in the race for the final continental spot, albeit having played a game more.
Team News
Andries Noppert remains unavailable for Heerenveen through a hip injury, meaning that Xavier Mous is set to retain his place between the sticks.
The away side will also be without Sven van Beek and Joost van Aken, who are currently nursing long-term Achilles and knee problems respectively.
Sydney van Hooijdonk is currently on a four-game scoring streak in the Eredivisie, and he will be aiming to deliver the goods for his side once again.
Sparta Rotterdam's Jonathan de Guzman will sit out game number five in a row due to a niggling muscle injury which he sustained in early March.
Twenty-five-year-old Tobias Lauritsen notched up his ninth league goal of the season last time and continues to impress in his first season in Dutch football.
Sparta Rotterdam possible starting lineup:
Olij; Sambo, Vriends, Eerdhuijzen, Pinto; Van Mullem, Kitolano; Van Crooy, Verschueren, Saito; Lauritsen
Heerenveen possible starting lineup:
Mous; Kohlert, Bochniewicz, Van Ottele, Van Ewijk; Tahiri, Haye; Sahraoui, Van Amersfoort, Olsson; Van Hooijdonk
We say: Sparta Rotterdam 2-1 Heerenveen
Both sides are in good form heading into this weekend's game, which promises to be an enthralling affair. We are anticipating a keenly-contested affair and a narrow win for the home side at the end of the 90 minutes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
