Seeking to snap their five-game losing streak, Groningen take a trip to the De Grolsch Veste to square off against FC Twente in round 33 of the Eredivisie on Wednesday.
The Tukkers, on the other hand, head into the game unbeaten in each of their last seven games against the visitors and will be looking to keep the juggernaut rolling.
Match preview
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Twente's dreams of a place in next season's Europa League effectively came to an end last Saturday when they suffered a disappointing 2-1 defeat against 15th-placed Fortuna Sittard.
In an action-packed first half, Zion Flemming put on a show in front of the away fans as he scored either side of Ricky van Wolfswinkel's 37th-minute equaliser to push Sjors Ultee's men three points clear of the drop zone.
Prior to that, the Tukkers were on an impressive nine-game unbeaten run in the league, picking up six wins and two draws while scoring 13 goals and keeping five clean sheets in that time.
Ron Jans's men have won 18, drawn eight and lost six of their 32 games this season to collect 62 points and sit fourth in the Eredivisie standings, six points adrift of third-placed Feyenoord, who boast a significantly superior goal difference of +28.
With just two games to go before the 2021-2022 campaign draws to a close, Twente must avoid any slip-ups if they hope to secure the automatic Conference League ticket as they currently sit just two points above fifth-placed AZ Alkmaar in the first qualification playoff spot.
Groningen, on the other hand, were left empty-handed once again when they were beaten 2-1 at the Euroborg Stadion by 16th-placed Sparta Rotterdam last time out.
Goals from Arno Verschueren and Lennart Thy put the visitors in a comfortable two-goal lead heading into the final half hour before Bjorn Meijer pulled one back in the 77th minute.
Danny Buijs's side have now lost each of their last five outings since the start of April, with their last win coming on March 20, when they comfortably saw off Utrecht 3-1 away from home.
This horrid run has been owing to their recent struggles at the defensive end of the pitch, where they have failed to keep a clean sheet since February's 1-0 win over Willem II, conceding 17 goals in that time.
While Groningen will be looking to arrest their slump in form, next up is an opposing side who they have failed to defeat in any of the last seven meetings between the teams, stretching back to a 1-0 home win in September 2019.
With 36 points from 32 games, Trots van het Noorden are currently 10th in the league standings, level on points with 11th-placed Go Ahead Eagles but could move into eighth place with all three points on Wednesday.
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Team News
Twente will be without the services of young centre-back Kik Pierie, who has been out of action since picking up an injury in March's game against PEC Zwolle.
Veteran midfielder Wout Brama also misses out for the Tukkers after the 35-year-old came off injured in the clash with Feyenoord last November.
Twenty-year-old forward Dawn Rots is set to miss his fourth game on the trot after sustaining a knee problem 19 minutes into the game against NEC Nijmegen on April 9.
Meanwhile, Dutch defender Radinio Balker is out of contention for Groningen as he continues his long road to full fitness after picking up an injury almost exactly one year ago.
He is joined on the club's injury table by fellow countryman Jan Hoekstra, who has been out of action since picking up a knee problem in January's game against NEC Nijmegen.
FC Twente possible starting lineup:
Unnerstall; Brenet, Propper, Pleguezuelo, Smal; Zerrouki, Bosch; Limnios, Vlap, Cerny; van Wolfswinkel
Groningen possible starting lineup:
Leeuwenburgh; Kasanwirjo, van Hintum, Te Wierik; Suslov, Abraham, Duarte, Irandust, Meijer; El Hankouri, Ngonge
We say: FC Twente 2-1 Groningen
Given Groningen's current run of results, Twente head into the game as firm favourites and will be backing themselves to come away with all three points on Wednesday. They are unbeaten in seven consecutive games against the visitors and we predict this trend will continue with the Tukkers picking up the win.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats, suggests the most likely outcome of this match is a FC Twente win with a probability of 55.5%. A draw has a probability of 23.3% and a win for Groningen has a probability of 21.21%.
The most likely scoreline for a FC Twente win is 1-0 with a probability of 11.01%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome are 2-1 (9.82%) and 2-0 (9.78%). The likeliest drawn scoreline is 1-1 (11.06%), while for a Groningen win it is 0-1 (6.23%).
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
