Preview: SBV Excelsior vs. Sparta Rotterdam - prediction, team news, lineups

The second Rotterdam derby of the Eredivisie season takes place at Stadion Woudestein on Saturday when SBV Excelsior welcome Sparta Rotterdam on matchday four.

Sparta fell to a 1-0 defeat to Feyenoord on the opening weekend of the new season, and they seek a positive outcome this time at a ground they won at 12 months ago to claim their fourth win in five matches against the Kralingers at the time.

Match preview

Excelsior return to Eredivisie action for the first time in a fortnight since their narrow 2-1 loss to PSV Eindhoven in mid-August.

Ruben den Uil's troops had done well to recover from falling behind after five minutes but levelled proceedings nine minutes after the break to seemingly set things up for a thrilling final half-hour or so.

However, no sooner had the Rotterdam outfit pegged back the Eindhoven giants than Ricardo Pepi put Peter Bosz's men back ahead, with PSV edging ahead in the 56th minute.

It stayed that way for the remainder of the game, and Excelsior have had a fortnight to rue that loss, having not played last weekend due to NEC Nijmegen's European exertions in the Champions League preliminary rounds.

Roodzwarten will hope that the extra time to rest stands them in good stead as they seek consecutive wins in this fixture for the first time since 2023 following their 3-2 victory over Sparta at the back end of last season.

The win was certainly unexpected, given Den Uil's men had suffered two straight defeats — and four in the previous five — but the Castle Lords' aim to claim a third win in this fixture was unsuccessful.

With Rogier Meijer now in situ after replacing Maurice Steijn, whose contract was not renewed at the end of 2025-26, De Kasteelheren seek their sixth victory in this fixture since the start of 2023.

They certainly enter matchday four in fine spirits after last weekend's wildly exciting 3-3 draw with FC Utrecht, which saw them trail 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 before snatching a 96th-minute leveller through centre-back Nick Verschuren.

The point was undoubtedly deserved on the balance of play and quality of chances both sides created, and Meijer's men thus extended their undefeated run in the league to two, slowly recovering from their early-season loss to regional rivals Feyenoord.

On their longest unbeaten Eredivisie run since March-April, avoiding defeat on Saturday will see the Castle Lords go unbeaten for that many games for the first time since a seven-match run from December to February 2026, signalling encouragement under the new regime.

SBV Excelsior Eredivisie form:

Sparta Rotterdam Eredivisie form:

Team News

Kasey Bos has been sidelined with a shoulder injury since completing his season-long loan from Mainz 05, and the left-back's status remains questionable for Saturday, as does that of David Garden, who went off after 68 minutes against PSV a fortnight ago.

Irakli Yegoian remains a game-deciding threat for the hosts, with the midfielder already contributing to three goals in two appearances, assisting two and notching one, and he seeks another top showing for Den Uil's team.

As for Sparta, Nokkvi Thorisson remains the leading threat, as he enters Saturday looking to add to his one goal and one assist in three appearances.

Shunsuke Mito is undeniably a genuine game-changer in central areas, while Bas Kuipers can affect proceedings from wide areas, with the pair already assisting two each in this season's Eredivisie.

Meijer did not suffer any apparent injury worries away at Utrecht last time out, giving the Castle Lords a healthy squad for this weekend.

SBV Excelsior possible starting lineup:

Van Gassel; Meissen, Widell, Plug, Janssen; Yegoian, Hartjes, Van Vianen; Sliti, Garden, Timas

Sparta Rotterdam possible starting lineup:

Bednarek; Young, Verschuren, Indi; Martes, Mito, Baas, Kuipers; Van Cruijsen, Thorisson, Santos

We say: SBV Excelsior 1-2 Sparta Rotterdam

Although Excelsior enter the derby well-rested following a fortnight away from competitive action, Sparta Rotterdam's resilient attacking form makes them a formidable proposition at Stadion Woudestein.

With Mito and Kuipers consistently carving out high-quality chances, Meijer's side should have enough final-third quality to edge a fiercely contested encounter and claim local bragging rights.

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