Fortuna Sittard play host to Sparta Rotterdam on Wednesday evening as the form team in the Eredivisie over the last five matches.
However, Sparta have recorded nine points over the same period, leading to expectations that the mid-table clash at the Fortuna Sittard Stadion could be the most entertaining clash of the latest batch of fixtures.
Match preview
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There was a time earlier this season when everyone associated with Sittard would have had fears of a season spent in the relegation zone.
However, with all but three of their 16 points for the campaign coming from the last five matches, Sjors Ultee's side now have ambitions of establishing themselves in mid-table.
Each of Sittard's four recent victories have come against clubs outside of the top seven, but they have proven that they should be nowhere near the bottom three.
While Sebastian Polter saw his four-match scoring streak come to an end at the weekend, Ultee will be happy to see his side win a match without the German making a decisive contribution.
Although Sittard are arguably the marginal favourites ahead of this contest, Sparta are another team who are very much on the up in the Dutch top flight.
Fifteen points have been collected from their last eight outings, a remarkable improvement when considering that they failed to win any of their first seven games.
Losing out at home to Feyenoord on Sunday came as a blow to Henk Fraser and his squad, particularly at the start of a tough schedule which also includes a meeting with PSV Eindhoven at the weekend.
Nevertheless, that disappointment will be put into perspective, and Sparta will still head into this contest expecting to maintain their two-point advantage over their upcoming opponents.
Fortuna Sittard Eredivisie form: LWWDWW
Sparta Rotterdam Eredivisie form: LWWLWL
Team News
Despite the short turnaround, Ultee could opt to play the same players which started the win at Heerenveen.
Former Brighton & Hove Albion defender George Cox has been a revelation at left-back, contributing a goal and three assists during his last five outings.
Reda Kharchouch is pushing for his first start of the season for Sparta after being introduced as a second-half replacement for Deroy Duarte at the weekend.
Sven Minjans, Bryan Smeets and Jeffry Fortes are also in contention for a recall to the first XI.
Fortuna Sittard possible starting lineup:
Osch; Rota, Angha, Janssen, Cox; Rienstra, Flemming, Tekie; Semedo, Polter, Hansson
Sparta Rotterdam possible starting lineup:
Okoye; Abels, Beugelsdijk, Heylen, Pinto; Smeets, Harroui; Minjans, Engels, Kharchouch; Thy
We say: Fortuna Sittard 1-1 Sparta Rotterdam
While Sittard have had few issues with scoring goals of late, they are facing opponents who will be motivated to hit back after being defeated by Feyenoord. Although the home side should make most of the running, we are backing the visitors to claim a deserved share of the spoils.
Top betting tip
Darren Plant
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 Fortuna Sittard win with a probability of 40.15%. A win for Sparta Rotterdam had a probability of 34.13% and a draw had a probability of 25.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Fortuna Sittard win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.48%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.65%) and 2-0 (6.72%). The likeliest Sparta Rotterdam win was 0-1 (8.6%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.2%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with an 8.6% likelihood.
