Off the back of a disappointing cup exit last time out, Vitesse play host to Emmen at GelreDome on Saturday in round 11 of the 2022-23 Eredivisie season.
Meanwhile, the away side set out to record consecutive victories for the first time this season having recently ended a seven-game winless run across all competitions.
Match preview
© Reuters
Vitesse were dumped out of the KNVB-Beker Round of 64 by lower league opposition Kozakken Boys at De Zwaaier on Wednesday via a penalty shootout.
Thomas Letsch's men led 1-0 and 2-1 thanks to strikes from Bartosz Bialek and Kacper Kozlowski, but they were pegged back on either occasion by Lars Hutten and Lowie van Zundert before Melle Meulensteen saw his spot kick saved when the teams could not be separated after two hours of football.
Prior to that, Geel en Zwart claimed a comprehensive 3-0 triumph over Cambuur last Saturday and have moved outside the drop zone into 15th place in the Eredivisie table.
Coming up next is the challenge of an opposing outfit who have come out on top in just one of the previous seven meetings between the teams since 2017.
Currently on a dismal run of eight games without a victory on home turf, Saturday's hosts will need to turn things around in front of their fans if they are to move further away from relegation danger.
FC Emmen saw off the threat of ADO 20 Heemskerk on Wednesday evening by claiming a narrow 2-1 win to move into the next phase of the Dutch Cup.
Dick Lukkien's men fell behind to Feyo Glim's opener just shy of the hour mark but managed to restore parity through Richairo Zivkovic, after which Azzeddine Toufiqui grabbed the deciding goal in extra time.
This came off the back of a 1-1 stalemate against FC Volendam, which leaves the Kannibals bottom but one in the league standings with six points from 10 games so far.
Having ended a streak of eight straight away defeats with their cup success in midweek, Saturday's visitors now go in search of consecutive wins on the road for the first time since July.
Team News
Vitesse's Kjell Scherpen was forced off with an injury against Cambuur, and the goalkeeper is now a major doubt for this weekend having missed his side's cup game on Wednesday.
Markus Schubert will be pushing for a start between the sticks in this one after the German made his return to the bench in midweek.
The Dutch duo of Maikel Kieftenbeld and Mart Lieder are both unavailable for FC Emmen as they remain ruled out of action with knee injuries.
Jeff Hardeveld also misses out through an ankle injury, while 23-year-old Metehan Guclu continues to battle with a long-term muscle problem.
Vitesse possible starting lineup:
Schubert; Wittek, Meulensteen, Ferro, Arcus; Tronstad, Flamingo; Vidovic, Bero, Kozlowski; Bialek
Emmen possible starting lineup:
Van der Hart; Dirksen, Veldmate, Veendorp, Bouchouari; Heylen, Vlak; Romeny, Mendes, El Messaoudi; Diemers
We say: Vitesse 2-1 Emmen
Both teams have made less than ideal starts to their respective league campaigns, but we expect a thrilling contest here nonetheless. We also fancy the hosts to just about see off the threat of their visitors and get the job done.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
