Preview:FC Utrecht vs Heerenveen - prediction, team news, lineups

FC Utrecht will set out to end a three-game losing streak across all competitions on their return to Eredivisie duty on Sunday when Heerenveen come visiting Stadion Galgenwaard.

While Ron Jans's men head into this weekend's clash in need of a pick-me-up, their visitors recently claimed their first win of the season and will seek to continue where they left off.

Match preview

Juggling European and domestic duties, Utrecht flew out of the blocks with five straight wins to start the season and went unbeaten in nine of their opening 10 matches across all competitions.

Consequently, De Domstedelingen earned themselves a place in the group stages of the Europa League and went into the international break level on points with second-place PSV Eindhoven.

Consecutive 1-0 defeats against Groningen and Fortuna Sittard preceded another loss by the same scoreline in Utrecht's European curtain-raiser against Lyon on Thursday, when Jans's side were undone by a Tanner Tessmann strike 15 minutes from time.

Utrecht have now failed to score in four of their last five matches, which is highly surprising for a team that netted 23 times in eight outings prior.

Sunday's hosts have not lost four straight matches since September 2023 and will be confident of keeping it that way, given their record against this weekend's opponents, who have won just one of the last 16 meetings between the teams.

Heerenveen finally got their season up and running at the sixth time of asking with a 3-2 triumph over NEC at the Abe Lenstra Stadion on Sunday afternoon.

Robin Veldman's men raced to a three-goal lead in the opening hour of play thanks to strikes from Ringo Meerveld, Dylan Vente and Jacob Trenskow, before further efforts from Koki Ogawa and Sami Ouaissa set up a nervy ending.

De Superfriezen will be hoping that last week's triumph catalyses an upturn in form as they seek to move up the standings in the coming weeks after knocking on the door of continental football last time out.

Having conceded four of their 10 goals so far in the final 15 minutes of matches, Heerenveen will need to address their susceptibility to being caught out late on.

Sunday's visitors are without an away triumph since January 12, highlighting the size of the task at hand as they head to Utrecht in search of consecutive victories.

FC Utrecht Eredivisie form:

FC Utrecht form (all competitions):

Heerenveen Eredivisie form:

Team News

Utrecht duo Yoann Cathline and Rafik El Arguioui have not featured this season and remain unavailable for selection.

Dani de Wit has missed seven straight games with a foot injury and is sidelined for the home side alongside fellow Dutchman Davy van den Berg, while Emirhan Demircan and Victor Jensen also miss out.

Sebastien Haller is without a goal in his last 13 matches for club and country, but the 31-year-old should fend off any competition for his place in the XI.

Pawel Bochniewicz and Levi Smans are both nursing knee problems, with the former still awaiting a first outing of 2025.

Nikolai Soyset Hopland and Sam Kersten both missed the game against NEC, although there is a level of optimism about their involvement this weekend.

FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:

Barkas; Horemans, Van der Hoorn, Viergever, El Karouani; Nielsen, Zechiel, Engwanda; Rodriguez, Haller, Murkin

Heerenveen possible starting lineup:

Klaverboer; Braude, Van Overeem, Willemsen, Zagaritis; Brouwers, Linday; Trenskow, Meerveld, Rivera; Vente

We say: FC Utrecht 2-1 Heerenveen

Utrecht have drawn blanks in three straight home matches, but Heerenveen's defensive struggles away from home should offer the hosts some encouragement.

Still, we expect Heerenveen to give a good account of themselves, albeit to no avail, with Utrecht emerging victorious when all is said and done.

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