Preview:Groningen vs. Sparta Rotterdam - prediction, team news, lineups

Groningen welcome Sparta Rotterdam to the Hitachi Capital Mobility Stadion on Saturday looking to avoid a fifth defeat on the bounce.

This weekend's meeting will be the second between the sides this term with October's reverse fixture ending in a 1-1 draw.

Match preview

Sparta Rotterdam played out a second consecutive home 1-1 stalemate on Sunday when they faced off against AZ Alkmaar on Saturday.

Henk Fraser's men went behind three minutes into the second half to Vangelis Pavlidis's opener before restoring parity in the final knockings through Vito van Crooy.

Consequently, De Rood-Witte Gladiatoren now sit bottom but one and three points away from safety in the Eredivisie table.

Lying in store next is a trip to an away ground where Sparta have won just one of their five matches stretching back to 2016.

However, that solitary win did come during their most recent trip back in May, when Saturday's visitors claimed a narrow 2-1 triumph.

Groningen's downward spiral continues following a 3-1 defeat against RKC Waalwijk at the Mandemakers Stadion on Sunday.

Danny Buijs's men were undone in the opening half as Finn Stokkers scored twice after which Richard van der Venne added a third, rendering Jorgen Strand Larsen's 58th-minute strike inconsequential.

The Pride of the North remain eighth in the league standings but are now being hunted down by a number of teams just behind, with only two points separating them from Cambuur in 13th.

With just three games left to conclude the current campaign, Saturday's hosts simply have to turn a corner as soon as possible to avoid losing their Conference League playoff berth.

Groningen Eredivisie form:

Sparta Rotterdam Eredivisie form:

Team News

Mario Engels is ruled out through a knee injury, while Goncalves Pinto remains sidelined with a muscle problem.

Adil Auassar shook off a minor knock to retain his place in the heart of the defence last time out, and the 35-year-old is expected to feature once again.

Groningen's Radinio Balker is a guaranteed absentee as he yet to feature this term due to a cruciate ligament injury.

Nineteen-year-old Tomas Suslov is also unavailable for this weekend's hosts due to a thigh problem.

Jan Hoekstra will not return to action until the next campaign having suffered a season-ending shoulder injury.

Groningen possible starting lineup:

Leeuwenburgh; Meijer, Van Hintum, Te Wierik, Dankerlui; Duarte, Kasanwirjo; Abraham, De Leeuw, El Hankouri; Larsen

Sparta Rotterdam possible starting lineup:

Okoye; Durmisi, Auassar, Vriends, Heylen, Abels; Masouras, Verschueren, Van Mullem, Jans; Thy

We say: Groningen 1-1 Sparta Rotterdam

Judging by previous meetings, we expect another tightly-contested affair in this one with the sides settling for a point apiece at the end of the 90 minutes.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats, suggests the most likely outcome of this match is a Groningen win with a probability of 54.1%. A draw has a probability of 25.2% and a win for Sparta Rotterdam has a probability of 20.65%.

The most likely scoreline is Groningen 1-0 Sparta Rotterdam with a probability of 13.65% and the second most likely scoreline is Groningen 1-1 Sparta Rotterdam with a probability of 11.86%.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.