RKC Waalwijk welcome Willem II to the Mandemakers Stadion in round six of the Eredivisie on Tuesday seeking to end a run of four consecutive games without a victory.
Meanwhile, the visitors come into the clash on a four-game unbeaten streak which has propelled them to the upper echelons of the standings.
Match preview
© Reuters
Willem II picked up a second straight home triumph on Saturday following a 2-1 victory versus an out of sorts Groningen side on Sunday.
Fred Grim's men raced to a two-goal lead inside the opening 24 minutes courtesy of goals from Kwasi Okyere Wriedt and Dries Saddiki, before Tomas Suslov pulled one back for his side just past the hour mark.
Having amassed 10 of the last 12 points available, the Tricolores have now moved up into fourth place, three points behind current leaders Ajax.
They will be looking to continue this fine run of results when they take on an opposing side who have not triumphed in any of the last eight meetings between the teams.
Tuesday's visitors, who are still yet to concede away from home so far, have turned a corner at the defensive end of the pitch after letting in 35 in their 17 games on the road last term.
Aiming to record their first away victory of the campaign, Waalwijk played out a 2-2 draw versus Utrecht at the Stadion Galgenwaard on Saturday.
Joseph Oosting's men went behind to Simon Gustafson's fourth-minute opener, before hitting back through Jens Odgaard and Alexander Buttner, only for Anastasios Douvikas to restore parity early in the second half.
Tuesday's hosts have failed to build upon an impressive opening-day 3-1 victory against AZ Alkmaar and are in 12th position at the moment.
Despite netting seven times in the last four games, RKC have also shipped nine during that time and keeping it tight at the back this time around will be key to getting a positive result.
- W
- L
- D
- L
- D
- L
- W
- L
- D
- L
- D
- L
- W
- W
- D
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
- D
- W
Team News
Waalwijk's David Min remains unavailable due to a muscle injury, while Luuk Wouters will not feature as he continues to battle with a knee injury.
Portuguese goalkeeper Joel Pereira is set to sit out a fourth game on the spin owing to a hernia problem, but he could make his return to action in the coming weeks.
Willem II will take to the field without the services of Jorn Brondeel who is serving the second of a three-game suspension following his red card on September 12.
Nineteen-year-old Wesley Spieringhs misses out with a knee injury, while Timon Wellenreuther is a doubt for the visitors through an ankle injury.
RKC Waalwijk possible starting lineup:
Vaessen; Touba, Meulensteen, Gaari, Buttner; Anita, Azhil, Van der Venne; Odgaard, Bakari, Kramer
Willem II possible starting lineup:
Van den Berg; Owusu, Jenssen, Heerkens, Kohn; Saglam, Saddiki, Llonch; Kohlert, Okyere Wriedt, Nunnely
We say: RKC Waalwijk 1-2 Willem II
Given the contrasting forms of both sides heading into the game, the visitors will fancy themselves to claim all three points in this one. We are tipping them to come out on top in what should be an absorbing affair.
Top tip
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 RKC Waalwijk win with a probability of 37.72%. A win for Willem II had a probability of 35.57% and a draw had a probability of 26.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a RKC Waalwijk win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.16%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.23%) and 2-0 (6.58%). The likeliest Willem II win was 0-1 (9.81%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.7%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 7.9% likelihood.