Emmen are unbeaten in their last six games, and they take on Fortuna Sittard on Saturday aiming to take another step towards exiting the Eredivisie drop zone.
The hosts have picked up just three of the last 15 available points, but are still on course for their highest league finish in three years.
Match preview
Fortuna Sittard suffered a second consecutive league defeat as they were beaten 2-0 by Feyenoord at De Kuip on Sunday.
Sjors Ultee's men went into the break on level terms, but Bryan Linssen and Steven Berghuis struck after the restart to hand the hosts all three points.
That defeat was the Fortunezen's fourth in five games which has dealt their chances of a mid-table finish a huge blow.
Saturday's hosts are yet to defeat the visitors in any of the last three meetings, with the most recent clash ending in a 2-2 draw in October's reverse fixture.
However, they will be buoyed by the away team's record of eight points from 14 games on the road, which is currently the worst in the division.
After three draws on the bounce, Emmen claimed a crucial win in their quest for survival as they beat RKC Waalwijk 3-1 at home on Sunday.
Dick Lukkien's men did the damage in the first half as goals from Nick Bakker, Luka Adzic, and Sergio Pena gave them a three-goal lead heading into the interval.
Cyril Ngonge pulled one back for his side in additional time, but that proved to be nothing more than a mere consolation.
Saturday's visitors are now just four points away from safety after a splendid run which has seen them pick up 12 of the last 18 points available.
- W
- L
- L
- W
- L
- L
- W
- W
- D
- D
- D
- W
Team News
Sergio Pena was in fine form for the visitors against Waalwijk, supplying a goal and an assist in a man-of-the-match performance.
Despite not making the matchday squad in the aforementioned game, Lentini Caciano is nearing a return to action after missing 16 games in a row due to a damaged ankle.
However, Luciano Carty is still a long way short of making his comeback from injury as he continues to battle with a knee injury.
Fortuna's Piet Velthuizen returned to the bench last time out after spending the last five weeks on the sidelines due to a muscle injury.
Lisandro Semedo was directly involved in both of his side's goals in the reverse fixture, and he will be hopeful of another stellar display.
Fortuna Sittard possible starting lineup:
Van Osch; Cox, Tirpan, Angha, Rota; Hansson, Rienstra, Tekie, Semedo; Seuntjens, Flemming
Emmen possible starting lineup:
Telgenkamp; Cavlan, Bakker, Araujo, Bijl; Ben Moussa, Tibbling; Frei, Pena, De Vos; De Leeuw
We say: Fortuna Sittard 2-1 Emmen
Emmen come into this one as the more in-form side, but Fortuna have been significantly better over the course of the season. We anticipate a tightly contested affair in this one, with the home team coming out on top come the final whistle.
Top 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 45.4%. A win for Emmen had a probability of 28.67% and a draw had a probability of 25.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Fortuna Sittard win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.03%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.1%) and 2-0 (8.14%). The likeliest Emmen win was 0-1 (8.35%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.32%). The actual scoreline of 1-3 was predicted with a 2.6% likelihood.
