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

FC Volendam and FC Utrecht return to Eredivisie action on Sunday afternoon at Kras Stadion in gameweek 19.

The teams experienced contrasting fortunes on cup duty last time out, as the hosts narrowly edged out Sparta Rotterdam to book a quarter-final place, while the visitors were dumped out by FC Twente.

Match preview

Aiming to kick off proceedings on a high, Utrecht locked horns with Twente in Wednesday's 2026 opener, as the sides battled to advance past the KNVB-Beker round of 16.

Dani de Wit's 12th-minute opener had Ron Jans's men in pole position to emerge victorious before second-half goals from Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Mats Rots turned the game on its head.

Consequently, De Domstedelingen have now suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time since October and have managed just one win from their last eight outings across all competitions.

Only three teams have picked up fewer points than Utrecht's four over the last five Eredivisie matches, leaving them 10th in the table, three points off the last European spot, albeit with a game in hand on the four teams directly above them.

Sunday's visitors, who have managed just one win from eight league away affairs this term, now seek to return to winning ways in the second of five games over a 16-day stretch.

Volendam's promotion to the top flight after a one-year absence has hardly gone as planned, and last year's Eerste Divisie champions are on course to be relegated, except they spark a turnaround in the second half of the campaign.

Rick Kruys's men have lost five straight league matches, most recently a 1-0 defeat to AZ Alkmaar in their 2026 curtain-raiser at the AFAS Stadion, where Sven Mijnans's ninth-minute goal proved decisive.

However, amid their Eredivisie woes, Het Andere Oranje are still going strong in the Dutch Cup, through to the last eight, and while the possibility of winning a first-ever cup title represents an exciting prospect, top-flight safety remains the priority.

With NAC Breda in action against NEC before Volendam take to the field this weekend, Sunday’s hosts could potentially be three points adrift of safety at kickoff, further increasing the importance of a victory.

Volendam will be hoping to end a two-game losing streak against Utrecht in their first home outing of the year, after which a daunting trip to Amsterdam to face Ajax awaits.

FC Volendam Eredivisie form:

FC Volendam form (all competitions):

FC Utrecht Eredivisie form:

FC Utrecht form (all competitions):

Team News

Volendam's Henk Veerman is a doubt to face his former employers, as he continues to nurse an injury sustained against AZ Alkmaar last Saturday.

Gibson Yah missed the hosts' most recent involvement and will need to pass a late fitness test to determine his readiness for Sunday, but Anthony Descotte is a guaranteed absentee.

David Min (ankle) and Davy van den Berg (knee) will not play any part for Utrecht here, although the former is edging ever closer to a return.

Twenty-two-year-old Zidane Iqbal is also expected to miss out after seven games on the sidelines through injury.

With two goals and nine assists, Souffian Elkarouani has the most direct goal contributions of any Eredivisie defender this term, making him one to keep an eye on.

FC Volendam possible starting lineup:

Van Oevelen; Ugwu, Amevor, Verschuren, Leliendal; Bukala, Mbuyamba, Kuwas; Oehlers, Muhren, Kokcu

FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:

Barkas; El Karouani, Viergever, Van der Hoorn, Horemans; Bozdogan, Engwanda; Cathline, Jensen, Rodriguez; De Wit

We say: FC Volendam 1-2 FC Utrecht

Still feeling elation from their cup heroics, Volendam will head into Sunday's encounter with a spring in their step, hoping to heap more misery on an out-of-sorts Utrecht side.

Nonetheless, we predict the visitors will narrowly defeat their hosts and secure a hard-fought win by the end of the 90 minutes.

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