Preview: RKC Waalwijk vs. Heerenveen - prediction, team news, lineups

RKC Waalwijk will be hoping to move outside of the Eredivisie's relegation zone by gaining a positive result against Heerenveen on Saturday.

The visitors head into the encounter nine points clear of their opponents, and five points behind FC Utrecht in the table's playoff spots.

Match preview

Despite losing 16 of their 26 league games so far, Waalwijk remain in the hunt to remain in the Eredivisie, having collected four points from their last two matches.

Henk Fraser's side had won just one of 12 matches before beating their relegation rivals Vitesse 3-1, while they remained level on points by claiming a 1-1 draw away to Excelsior in their last match before the international break.

Siebe Horemans had provided the hosts with the lead after 28 minutes, but Mats Seuntjens snatched a point for his team. As such, the two sides are separated by one goal only either side of the dreaded dotted lines.

RKC now have two successive home matches to continue their decent run of form, as they desperately attempt to extend their five-year stay in the Eredivisie following their promotion in 2019.

Heerenveen, on the other hand, have remained in the Netherlands' top flight since 1993. However, the Eredivisie title has continued to elude them, despite finishing as runners-up in the 1999-2000 campaign.

That joint-record finish is a long way off at the moment, with Kees van Wonderen's side facing an uphill battle to qualify for the European playoff positions.

After falling to a 2-0 defeat away to NEC, Heerenveen suffered an agonising 3-2 defeat at home to Feyenoord in their last match prior to the international break. Mats Kohlert's brace had looked likely to cause an upset, but late strikes from Igor Paixao and Ayase Ueda turned the match on its head for the division's second-ranked side.

The Super Frisians have actually nine goals across their last five away matches, suggesting that they have every chance of recording a positive result against their struggling opponents on Saturday.

Team News

Waalwijk will be without Godfried Roemeratoe as he incurred a suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards when being booked against Excelsior.

Nouri El Harmazi will miss out due to a shoulder issue, while Seuntjens - who scored a crucial equaliser last time out - is also a doubt due to an unknown injury.

Heerenveen, meanwhile, will travel without Luuk Brouwers due to a hamstring injury. The midfielder has scored six goals in 20 appearances this season, so will be a major miss.

Otherwise, though, van Wonderen should have a fully-fit squad at his disposal, meaning that he may keep faith with the team that pushed Feyenoord all of the way in their most recent match.

RKC Waalwijk possible starting lineup: Vaessen; Lelieveld, Adewoye, Van den Buijs, Meijers; Felida, Oukili; Margaret, Niemeijer, Lokesa; Min

Heerenveen possible starting lineup: Van der Hart; Braude, Van Beek, Bochniewicz, Kohlert; Haye, Olsson; Walemark, Tahiri, Nunnely; Van Amersfoort

We say: RKC Waalwijk 2-2 Heerenveen

Waalwijk are fighting tooth and nail to remain in the Eredivisie, whereas Heerenveen have less obvious matters to play for.

As such, we can envisage the hosts avoiding defeat at least on Saturday, but the visitors have plenty of firepower and will fancy their chances of scoring some goals.

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