Preview: Heerenveen vs Fortuna Sittard - prediction, team news, lineups

Fresh from seeing their five-game unbeaten streak come to an end, Heerenveen will look to bounce back on Saturday evening when they welcome Fortuna Sittard to the Abe Lenstra Stadion.

Sitting eighth in the standings, Heerenveen sit just two points above Groningen and Sparta Rotterdam, meaning a defeat this weekend could see them drop out of the European contention. Meanwhile, a loss for Fortuna Sittard would all but end their already faint hopes of continental qualification.

Match preview

Heerenveen's 4-1 demolition of Heracles at the start of April was arguably their best performance of the campaign, and they would have fancied their chances against an AZ Alkmaar side distracted by their Conference League quarter-final second leg and the KNVB Beker final.

A quickfire first-half double from Sven Mijnans and Troy Parrott's strike 19 minutes from time handed Robin Veldman's men their first loss since a 3-1 defeat to champions PSV Eindhoven on February 21.

Three consecutive matches against sides currently in the bottom seven offer De Superfriezen the perfect opportunity to regain momentum before finishing their campaign against Ajax.

Heerenveen are winless in their last four meetings with Fortuna, including a 2-0 defeat earlier this season in which Mattijs Branderhorst delivered a standout goalkeeping performance.

However, Saturday's hosts have won each of their last four home matches by a combined scoreline of 13-4 and will be confident of another impressive display in front of their fans.

Fortuna have struggled for consistency this term, but back-to-back wins over SBV Excelsior and NEC at the end of February offered hope for a strong finish to the campaign.

However, Danny Buijs's side began March with a heavy 4-1 defeat to relegation-threatened Telstar—their joint-worst loss of the 2025-26 season—setting the tone for a run of just one win in five across all competitions.

A 1-1 draw with NAC Breda last time out ended the Fortunezen's two-game losing streak ahead of their trip to Friesland, where they have not won in four attempts since January 2021 (D1, L3).

Sittard begin this weekend's fixtures eight points behind eighth-placed Heerenveen with four games to play, leaving them in the last chance saloon to keep their European ambitions alive.

Only Heracles and PEC Zwolle have conceded more goals in the Dutch top flight than Saturday’s visitors (55), and a defensive unit that has now gone 19 games without a clean sheet hardly inspires confidence.

Heerenveen Eredivisie form:

Fortuna Sittard Eredivisie form:

Team News

Backup goalkeeper Andries Noppert is out of contention with a back issue that has kept him out of both of Heerenveen's most recent outings.

Since putting on a stellar display in August's curtain-raiser, Levi Smans (knee) has not featured for the hosts, while Amourricho van Axel-Dongen remains out with a thigh problem.

Maas Willemsen was forced off with an injury 10 minutes from the end of his side's defeat to AZ, making the 22-year-old a doubt for Saturday's fixture.

Sittard still have a mini crisis between the sticks, with Ramazan Bayram (knee), Mattijs Branderhorst (muscle) and Nick Marsman all ruled out.

Daley Sinkgraven, Ivo Pinto, Edouard Michut and Justin Lonwijk are also unavailable for selection, but Justin Hubner is fit again after returning to action last time out.

Alen Halilovic will miss out against his former club, as the Croatian continues to endure an injury-hit campaign.

Heerenveen possible starting lineup:

Klaverboer; Zagaritis, Petrov, Kersten, Braude; Van Overeem, Linday; Rivera, Meerveld, Trenskow; Nordas

Fortuna Sittard possible starting lineup:

Koopmans; Dahlhaus, Hubner, Adewoye, Kasanwirjo; Van Ottele, Brittijn; Limnios, Duijvestijn, Peterson; Sierhuis

We say: Heerenveen 3-1 Fortuna Sittard

Fortuna's defensive struggles should play into Heerenveen's hands, as they have been prolific at home, averaging over two goals per league game this season.

We fully fancy the hosts to cruise to an emphatic victory when all is said and done here.

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