FC Twente will be hoping to avoid a third successive Eredivisie game without a win when they travel to RKC Waalwijk on Friday evening.
The hosts, meanwhile, could move seven points clear of the bottom three with a victory at the Mandemakers Stadion.
Match preview
© Reuters
RKC Waalwijk ended a run of three consecutive defeats in all competitions when they played out a 1-1 draw away at NEC last weekend.
After Richard van der Venne had put the visitors in front in the 18th minute, Joseph Oosting's men were seemingly heading towards all three points, but an 88th-minute equaliser from Jonathan Obika forced both sides to share the spoils.
Waalwijk currently sit 13th in the Eredivisie standings with 23 points from as many games, four points above Fortuna Sittard in 16th who occupy the relegation playoff position.
Oosting's side have alternated between defeat and victory in each of their last five league games on home soil, though all three defeats in this run were against Dutch giants Ajax, PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord.
Waalwijk will be confident of returning to winning ways at the Mandemakers Stadion on Friday, as they have won each of their last three home games against FC Twente, scoring nine goals in the process.
FC Twente, meanwhile, followed up their heavy 5-0 defeat way at Ajax with a 2-2 draw at home against Go Ahead Eagles last weekend.
Strikes either side of half time from Isac Lidberg and Inigo Cordoba put the visitors two goals to the good, before an own goal from Joris Kramer in the 72nd minute and an 89th-minute equaliser from Joshua Brenet rescued a point for the Tukkers.
Ron Jans's men remain in fifth place in the Eredivisie table, but their hopes of securing a European qualification place are slipping away as they now sit nine points behind Feyenoord in third.
Prior to their loss at Ajax, Twente were unbeaten in five away matches in the Dutch top flight, and across the whole campaign they have failed to score in only two of their 12 games on the road.
The Tukkers have, however, struggled against Waalwijk in recent meetings and they have failed to win any of their last four at the Mandemakers Stadion. Victory on Friday would be their first in Waalwijk since October 2012.
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Team News
Waalwijk will be without Joel Pereira, David Min, Sebbe Augustijns and Hans Mulder due to injury.
Oosting is unlikely to make many, if any, changes to his starting lineup, but Ayman Azhil could be one who is brought into the midfield at the expense of either Yassin Oukili or Richard van der Venne.
Former Manchester United left-back Alexander Buttner and Jurien Gaari will continue to provide width as wing-backs, while forwards Jens Odegaard and Michiel Kramer – who have scored 15 goals combined so far this season – are set to start up front.
As for Twente, Luca Everink, Kik Pierie, Manfred Ugalde and Wout Brama are all sidelined with injuries.
Mees Hilgers missed last weekend's fixture with a minor groin strain and the defender remains doubtful for Friday's game, so Julio Pleguezuelo is set to partner Robin Propper at centre-back once again.
Experienced striker Ricky Van Wolfswinkel, who has scored 11 league goals in 22 appearances this season, is expected to lead the line up front, with support provided on the flanks by Daan Rots and Dimitris Limnios.
RKC Waalwijk possible starting lineup:
Vaessen; Touba, Meulensteen, Adewoye; Gaari, Azhil, Anita, Van der Venne, Buttner; Odgaard, Kramer
FC Twente possible starting lineup:
Unnerstall; Troupee, Pleguezuelo, Propper, Smal; Sadilek, Zerrouki; Rots, Vlap, Limnios; Van Wolfswinkel
We say: RKC Waalwijk 2-2 FC Twente
Both Waalwijk and Twente have suffered a slight dip in form over the last few weeks and they will be keen to return to winning ways on Friday.
Considering that the two teams have conceded 66 times combined in the league so far this season, goals are to be expected at the Mandemakers Stadion, but with little to separate them, an entertaining score draw could be on the cards.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
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 FC Twente win with a probability of 39.22%. A win for RKC Waalwijk had a probability of 35.89% and a draw had a probability of 24.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a FC Twente win was 1-2 with a probability of 8.59%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (8.32%) and 0-2 (6.14%). The likeliest RKC Waalwijk win was 2-1 (8.16%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.65%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with an 8.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-2 win for FC Twente in this match.
