Preview:Sparta Rotterdam vs. FC Twente - prediction, team news, lineups

John van den Brom takes charge of FC Twente for the first time on Friday, when the Reds travel to Het Kasteel to face Sparta Rotterdam in the sixth round of the Eredivisie.

The Tukkers dismissed Joseph Oosting after five gameweeks, and it remains to be seen how the Enschede-based club fare in Rotterdam, where Sparta have both won and lost ahead of their third home fixture in 2025-26.

Match preview

Sparta finished 12th last season, but Maurice Steijn's team have started this term well, winning three of their first five matches.

Only two clubs have won more matches than the Rotterdam-based team — Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven, with four each — although the team's tendency to concede suggests that De Kasteelheren could soon be brought back to reality.

Among the clubs in the top half of the table, Sparta's 11 goals conceded are the highest — letting in six against the defending champions in Eindhoven and four against the early-season high-flying Feyenoord — while their seven goals scored are fewer than every team in the division's top nine.

Adding to the hosts' potential concerns ahead of Friday's match is De Rood-Witte’s longstanding difficulty in defeating Twente in league and cup matches since December 2020.

Since their 2-0 victory in Enschede, Sparta have drawn six and lost five out of 11 encounters, and not since October 2019 have the Castle Lords recorded a home win over Friday's opponents.

While this weekend presents a good chance to end that five-year wait for a league victory, Twente will hope for an improvement to mirror their recent managerial change after Oosting was dismissed in the province of Overijssel.

Although the change followed a 2-2 draw at home against NAC Breda, it leaves last year's sixth-placed side with just one top-flight win after five games, with one draw and three losses.

Interestingly, two of the Reds' defeats have been away — both 1-0 losses to PEC Zwolle and Excelsior — and they could suffer a third reverse in four matches on their travels if Friday’s game does not go their way.

That outcome is possible given their disappointing start to the season, marked by the Reds' failure to keep clean sheets in any game this season, conceding one goal in three fixtures and two in their 2-0 home loss against PSV and recently versus NAC Breda.

The travelling supporters will hope for a different result at a ground they won as recently as May after drawing on three consecutive visits.

Sparta Rotterdam Eredivisie form:

FC Twente Eredivisie form:

Team News

Shunsuke Mito's knee injury is expected to keep him sidelined, while Bruno Martins Indi could return at centre-back after serving a suspension for the red card he received for a professional foul against Feyenoord in gameweek four.

Tobias Lauritsen and Patrick van Aanholt will be dangerous for the hosts for several reasons: Lauritsen has scored two and assisted one, and the forward aims to increase his goal contributions, while the left-back seeks to add to his three assists.

It was Van Aanholt's helper that set up Ayoub Oufkir's 93rd-minute winner in the Rotterdam derby victory over SBV Excelsior, and the teenage forward is pushing for his first start in gameweek six.

Stav Lemkin, substituted nine minutes into Israel's World Cup qualifier against Italy on September 8, is expected to be out for a few more weeks, while knee injuries to Mathias Kjolo and Sam Lammers should keep them sidelined for Twente.

Ricky van Wolfswinkel finally scored his first goal of the season in the 2-2 draw with NAC, though the forward’s seven chances created rank behind only Mats Rots (eight) in the Reds’ squad, highlighting the striker’s value beyond scoring.

Taylor Booth and Arno Verschueren’s creativity could also be crucial in matchday six, as both have fashioned three big chances after five rounds.

Sparta Rotterdam possible starting lineup:

Drommel; Sambo, Young, Indi, Van Aanholt; Clement, Kitolano; Bergen, Toornstra, Ltaief; Lauritsen

FC Twente possible starting lineup:

Unnerstall; Van Rooij, Propper, Bruns, M. Rots; Zerrouki, Verschueren; D. Rots, Hlynsson, Orjasaeter; Van Wolfswinkel

We say: Sparta Rotterdam 1-1 FC Twente

Prior to Twente’s managerial change, Sparta would have looked forward to hosting the struggling Reds; however, the arrival of Van den Brom, who is unbeaten in nine previous meetings with Steijn (six wins), paints a different picture.

With three of the previous four corresponding games in Rotterdam ending in draws, another stalemate is anticipated in Friday’s contest.

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