Heerenveen will be looking to bring their poor run of Eredivisie form to an end when they host NEC Nijmegen at the Abe Lenstra Stadion on Saturday afternoon.
As things stand, the hosts are 14th in the table, just two points above the bottom three, while the visitors are faring slightly better, up in 10th place.
Match preview
Heerenveen made an exceptional start to the Eredivisie season, winning their opening two games, however they are now on a five-game losing streak, and their record of 17 goals conceded is the second-worst defensive showing in the division.
In fairness, the Super Frisians have faced tough opposition in FC Twente and reigning champions Feyenoord, however they have also looked very poor against much weaker opposition, which will be a cause of concern for manager Kees van Wonderen.
Van Wonderen's side have been defeated by Sparta Rotterdam, Go Ahead Eagles and Excelsior, conceding nine goals in the process, and the defeat against the latter club will perhaps be the most alarming, losing 3-0 at the Abe Lenstra Stadion in their last home game.
The only potential cause for optimism is the fact Heerenveen put in some impressive performances at the beginning of the campaign, defeating Waalwijk and FC Utrecht, and Van Wonderen will be hoping his side can get back to that level this weekend.
NEC have made a slightly better start to the Eredivisie campaign, having collected one more point than their opponents, but they have also looked a little suspect defensively, ever since losing 4-3 against Excelsior on the opening day of the season.
Nijmegen have shipped 14 goals in seven games, having also been on the receiving end of a 4-0 defeat away at PSV Eindhoven, and a 3-1 loss against Vitesse last time out, which will have been very frustrating for manager Rogier Meijer.
Meijer's side dominated possession throughout the match, and recorded five shots on target, the same number as their opponents, but they simply were not clinical enough to take anything from the game.
Sunday's defeat Vitesse was the second time NEC have come unstuck at home this season, but they have also picked up some impressive wins, defeating both Waalwijk and Utrecht 3-0, so there are some positives to take from the start to the campaign.
However, Nijmegen have taken just one point from their opening three away games, the joint-second lowest amount of any side in the Eredivisie, so they will need to put in a much-improved performance if they are going to take anything from Saturday's game.
Team News
Heerenveen may choose to mix things up this weekend, off the back of five consecutive losses, and Ion Nicolaescu could come back in at striker, replacing Pelle Van Amersfoort, who is without a goal in his last four games.
Patrik Walemark has featured in the last two games, after recovering from a long-term injury, and the Swede could be handed a start over Che Nunnely, as the 24-year-old is yet to contribute either a goal or assist in seven Eredivisie matches.
As for NEC, Elayis Tavsan is set to remain sidelined, having missed the last six games due to injury, while Kas de Wit has not been involved all season due to a long-term issue, and the 20-year-old is unavailable once again.
Despite losing against Vitesse last weekend, there were some encouraging signs for NEC, with Magnus Mattsson catching the eye, and the attacking midfielder is likely to be the danger man for the visitors, having already picked up four goals and two assists this season.
Heerenveen possible starting lineup:
Noppert; Ali, Van Beek, Bochniewicz, Kohlert; Haye, Brouwers, Nunnely, Olsson, Sahraoui; Nicolaescu
NEC possible starting lineup:
Roefs; Van Rooij, Sandler, Nuytinck, Verdonk; Proper, Schone, Hansen, Mattsson, Gonzalez; Dost
We say: Heerenveen 1-1 NEC
Heerenveen have looked very poor over the past few weeks, losing their last five games on the spin, but NEC have picked up just one point from their opening three away games.
As such, we expect the hosts to stop the rot this weekend, which would be a huge relief for Van Wonderen considering his side have underperformed massively of late.
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