Unbeaten Feyenoord will aim to start turning draws into wins and close the gap to Eredivisie leaders Ajax when they visit VVV-Venlo on Sunday.
VVV find themselves just three points clear of the relegation zone and will not relish hosting fourth-placed Feyenoord.
Match preview
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VVV have endured a difficult start to the campaign and are 14th in the league standings, with just three points keeping them outside the drop zone.
Jay Driessen's men have the worst defensive record in the league, shipping a whopping 33 goals in just 11 games so far, although they have been decent going forward, scoring 18 times.
Thirteen of the 33 goals they have conceded came in a humiliating 13-0 thrashing by Ajax and VVV have also yet to keep a clean sheet this term.
If they are to avoid similar embarrassment against Feyenoord, Driessen will need to get his team to tighten up at the back.
This is a particularly pressing matter for VVV as Feyenoord are the joint-second highest scorers in the league this term, hitting 23 goals in 11 games so far.
They remain the only unbeaten side in the Eredivisie and will feel confident of maintaining that status as they come up against a struggling VVV outfit.
The fixture represents a great chance for Dick Advocaat's side to record a win, having drawn their last two games in succession.
Failing to gain maximum points from their league fixtures has hindered Feyenoord's title chances thus far, with five draws from their 11 fixtures seeing them sit four points behind table-topping Ajax.
VVV-Venlo Eredivisie form: LLWLDL
VVV-Venlo form (all competitions): WLWLDL
Feyenoord Eredivisie form: DWWWDD
Feyenoord form (all competitions): WDDLDL
Team News
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VVV boss Driessen is without a trio of players heading into Sunday's fixture.
Roy Gelmi and Danny Post are both suspended for this one, but will return for the following fixture.
Ante Coric is back in training, but is unlikely to make his return in this game.
Feyenoord head coach Advocaat, however, has a lengthier list to deal with.
Justin Bijlow and Robert Bozenik are both out until later this month and are definitely unavailable.
Christian Conteh, Ridgeciano Haps and Sven van Beek, meanwhile, are all doubts and will be assessed before the match.
VVV-Venlo possible starting lineup:
D. van Crooy; Pachonik, Swinkels, Kum, Schafer; V. van Crooy, Machach, Linthorst, Hunte; Arias, Giakoumakis
Feyenoord possible starting lineup:
Marsman; Geertruida, Spajic, Senesi, Malacia; Diemers, Toornstra, Kokcu; Berghuis, Jorgensen, Linssen
We say: VVV-Venlo 1-3 Feyenoord
VVV are a struggling side and their poor defence is unlikely to cope well with a prolific Feyenoord attack. The gung-ho relegation strugglers may get themselves on the scoresheet, but Feyenoord are clear favourites and should record a comfortable victory.
Top betting tip
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 Feyenoord win with a probability of 63.43%. A draw had a probability of 19.4% and a win for VVV-Venlo had a probability of 17.15%.
The most likely scoreline for a Feyenoord win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.82%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (9.17%) and 0-1 (8.25%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.84%), while for a VVV-Venlo win it was 2-1 (4.73%). The actual scoreline of 0-3 was predicted with a 6.8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Feyenoord would win this match.
