Preview: FC Twente vs. Fortuna Sittard - prediction, team news, lineups

FC Twente are five places and three points behind Fortuna Sittard in the Eredivisie table ahead of Friday's match in round seven at De Grolsch Veste.

The hosts secured a commendable 5-1 victory over Sparta Rotterdam last time out, and they aim for back-to-back wins for the first time this season against the league's sixth-placed side.

Match preview

John van den Brom had a debut to remember in charge of Twente as they overwhelmed Sparta 5-1 in Rotterdam to bounce back after a two-game run without maximum points.

Notably, the win featured five different goalscorers — Ramiz Zerrouki, Kristian Hlynsson, Bart van Rooij, Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Naci Unuvar — with Hlynsson also contributing an assist, marking the midfielder's second involvement.

Now managing Twente for the first time in Enschede, Van den Brom aims for the Tukkers' first home victory of the 2025-26 season following previous setbacks: a 2-0 defeat by defending Eredivisie champions PSV Eindhoven and a 2-2 draw against NAC Breda.

While last season's 1-1 stalemate in this fixture might cause some doubts among supporters, Twente's winning streak of five Eredivisie matches against Fortuna — including both clashes in Enschede with an aggregate score of 5-0 before April’s tie — should bolster confidence in Overijssel.

Additionally, Van den Brom's five-match unbeaten record against opposing manager Danny Buijs, along with a strong record of winning seven of his nine previous encounters against Friday’s opponent, further boosts optimism ahead of the upcoming fixture.

As a result, it will be fascinating to see if Buijs finally overcomes Van den Brom, against whom he has suffered four defeats in five encounters, as FSC aim to extend Twente’s winless start at De Grolsch Veste.

Fortuna enter the seventh gameweek aware of their hosts’ lack of clean sheets all season, as well as the allowance of two goals in each home match, which they will seek to exploit despite the managerial change at the Enschede-based club.

Getting back to winning ways against FC Utrecht at the weekend was also what the doctor ordered for the away side, whose previous away game ended in a 2-0 loss at table-topping Feyenoord.

Although there was no shame in losing to Robin van Persie's team, that defeat means the Limburg-based visitors have lost two of their three away fixtures this season, with a 3-1 victory at promoted Telstar being the club's only success on the road in the 25-26 season.

Nonetheless, the travelling supporters will be confident about their team's chances of making Friday's match competitive, considering their team's scoring ability, having netted seven goals in the last four league games, including three each in victories over NEC (3-2) and Telstar (3-1).

FC Twente Eredivisie form:

Fortuna Sittard Eredivisie form:

Team News

Daan Rots was substituted at the break against Sparta, and the wide attacker could now join Sam Lammers (knee), Stav Lemkin and Mathias Kjolo (knee) on the sidelines.

While a start is not guaranteed for Arno Verschueren, the attacking midfielder, who has created four clear-cut chances this season, finally got rewarded with his first assist in the 5-1 thrashing of Sparta.

The trio of Mats Rots, Van Wolfswinkel and Hlynsson have created nine, eight and seven chances this season, providing Twente with creative options from full-back and attacking positions.

Fortuna have several injury concerns, with Samuel Bastien struggling with illness, Ramazan Bayram and Daley Sinkgraven battling knee issues, Alen Halilovic dealing with an ankle injury and Syb van Ottele hampered by a hamstring injury.

Mohamed Ihattaren has been FSC's most prolific attacker this season, scoring three times and assisting once, surpassing Philip Brittijn and Makan Aiko’s three involvements.

FC Twente possible starting lineup:

Unnerstall; Van Rooij, Bruns, Propper, Rots; Zerrouki, Hlynsson, Weidmann; Pjaca, Van Wolfswinkel, Orjasaeter

Fortuna Sittard possible starting lineup:

Branderhorst; Limnios, Adewoye, Marquez, Dahlhaus; Brittijn, Fosso; Lonwijk, Ihattareb, Peterson; Sierhuis

We say: FC Twente 3-1 Fortuna Sittard

Twente’s absence of clean sheets and Fortuna scoring in all but one league fixture suggest that both teams will find the net in Friday’s match.

However, the hosts’ dominance in this fixture over recent seasons, combined with Van den Brom’s winning record against Buijs and Fortunezen, indicates that the Tukkers are well-placed for their first home victory this term.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.