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

Winless in this fixture since 2017, Groningen welcome FC Twente to Euroborg for Sunday's lunchtime matchday five Eredivisie encounter.

Fourteen matches have passed since September 2017, when they beat Twente 1-0, and De FC's run of consecutive defeats does not bode well heading into this weekend's encounter.

Match preview

Having started the season rather swimmingly with two wins from two, Groningen have now seen their early momentum punctured by back-to-back losses.

A heavy 5-1 hammering away at PSV Eindhoven ended Trots van het Noorden's four-match regular-season winning run, and a 3-2 defeat on home turf by Fortuna Sittard further deflated any optimism Dick Lukkien's men had gathered.

Their inability to keep clean sheets was not fatal when they scored more than the opponent, but that leaky rearguard has now been their undoing in the last two games, even if a defeat away at the division's defending champions can be excused.

Losing 3-2 to Fortuna in a match in which they made 23 attempts to the Sittard outfit's nine was disappointing, though, and Lukkien's men enter Sunday hoping to find some defensive balance.

The historical precedent does little to lift the mood at Euroborg, given the FC's 14-match winless streak in this fixture over a nine-year period, seven of which have ended in defeat.

Indeed, John van den Brom's Reds will be aware of that record heading into this matchday five encounter, as they seek to extend it to 15 meetings without defeat.

The travelling fans will have belief in their team's ability to do just that, having witnessed consecutive victories over PEC Zwolle and promoted Cambuur after an opening-day 1-0 reverse at Heerenveen.

The Reds' free-scoring nature has been evident at the start of this season, with only Heerenveen and Qarabag preventing the Tukkers from scoring in nine competitive games.

Losing to the Azerbaijani outfit, though, was not fatal, as Van den Brom's men hit them for four in Baku to reach the league phase of the Conference League, securing a 4-1 success after losing the first leg at home 1-0.

By following up their outstanding turnaround in Europe with a 4-1 triumph at Cambuur, Twente have risen to eighth in an embryonic Eredivisie table, and they could enter the competition's coveted continental spots with a win and the right set of results in other fixtures.

Groningen Eredivisie form:

FC Twente Eredivisie form:

FC Twente form (all competitions):

Team News

Marco Rente (back), Tyrique Mercera, Ryan Metu (unknown injury) and Malcolm Jeng (Achilles) are all sidelined for Groningen this weekend.

Of those available, Brynjolfur Darri Willumsson is the leading match-winning threat, having netted in three consecutive league games against FC Utrecht, ADO Den Haag and PSV before failing to score in the defeat to Fortuna.

While Thom van Bergen neither scored nor assisted in the loss, the attacking midfielder's four direct involvements make him a threat to Twente.

The Tukkers, for their part, can rely on Sondre Orjasaeter's creativity for a steady supply of chances, with the wide attacker already assisting two goals this term.

Wout Weghorst is expected to lead the line, fresh off scoring in consecutive games for the first time since joining the Reds, and he seeks to find the net for three matches running.

On the injury front, there are no confirmed absentees for the Tukkers, even if the visitors will assess Kristian Hlynsson (knock) and Stav Lemkin before Sunday's visit to Euroborg.

Groningen possible starting lineup:

Vaessen; Schreuders, Blokzijl, Csinger, Prins; Land, De Jonge; Van der Werff, Van Bergen, Clement; Willumsson

FC Twente possible starting lineup:

Unnerstall; Van Rooij, Propper, Nijstad, Adelgaard; Zerrouki, Weidmann; Orjasaeter, Taha, Pjaca; Weghorst

We say: Groningen 1-2 FC Twente

Although Groningen have shown attacking intent early in the season, their leaky defence and a mounting injury list could leave them exposed to a confident Twente side.

With Weghorst and Orjasaeter firing on all cylinders after their impressive European exploits, the Tukkers should have enough final-third quality to secure all three points at Euroborg.

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