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

Aiming to end their winless streak against Sparta Rotterdam, FC Utrecht travel to Het Kasteel looking to snap their losing start to the Eredivisie season.

Utrecht have suffered disappointing defeats to Groningen and AZ Alkmaar in the first two matchdays of the 2026-27 season, but they hope to halt that sequence on Saturday.

Match preview

Having fallen to a defeat to their Rotterdam rivals on the opening day of the season, Rogier Meijer secured his first success as head coach away at Telstar.

The Castle Lords' 3-1 success certainly did not flatter them as they outshot last year's strugglers 16-7, creating as many as six clear-cut chances to their opponents' two, accumulating Expected Goals (xG) of 3.08 to 1.42.

Aiming to pick up where they left off, Meijer seeks his first success in Rotterdam since taking charge of the club as De Kasteelheren strive to snap their winless run in front of their fans.

Since beating now-relegated FC Volendam 2-0 in March, Sparta have fallen to three defeats and notched one draw in four matches at home, failing to score in two of those games.

In fact, the success over Volendam remains De Kasteelheren's only victory in seven Eredivisie matches, highlighting their struggles in Rotterdam for much of 2026, despite winning consecutive games against Heracles and Groningen 2-0 to start the year.

That ambition is backed by the Castle Lords' three-match unbeaten streak in this fixture, with the last two meetings ending in their favour.

Indeed, Utrecht face the prospect of a third consecutive loss to start the season to heap more early pressure on Anthony Correia.

Replacing the retired Ron Jans has not gone according to plan for the former Telstar boss, whose bow in charge of Utreg ended in a 2-1 loss to Groningen before suffering a heavier setback last time out at home to AZ.

While they were still in the game after conceding just before the break, letting in two quickfire goals at the start of the second half in minutes 47 and 49 put the game out of reach, even if Artem Stepanov briefly netted one for the Cupfighters just after the hour.

While they huffed and puffed, Correia's men could not halve the deficit, but did concede one more late on, leaving them in 14th spot ahead of the season's third matchday.

Without a doubt, the travelling fans will hope for a different outcome on Saturday, aiming to find some cheer in a season that has hitherto had little encouragement under the new boss.

However, Utrecht's desire faces them snapping an extended disappointing run of results away from home in the Eredivisie, considering that they have fallen to four losses in five matches outside Utrecht after claiming 11 points from a possible 15 in the previous five fixtures on their travels.

Sparta Rotterdam Eredivisie form:

FC Utrecht Eredivisie form:

Team News

After welcoming back Julian Baas from suspension in the win at Telstar, Sparta head into Saturday with a seemingly full squad, giving Meijer options aplenty against the off-form Cupfighters.

After a disappointing start to the season, Shunsuke Mito was back among the goal contributors last time out, setting up one of the Castle Lords' three strikes against the White Lions.

Nokkvi Thorisson was the star performer on the day, however, scoring and assisting another, and the centre-forward will target goals in consecutive games.

Utrecht will depend on Stepanov for their final-third execution, with the forward aiming to score in consecutive fixtures for the second time since moving to the club in January.

However, Correia's men are facing a lengthy injury list, with Victor Jensen (knee), Noah Ohio (knee), Alonzo Engwanda (hamstring), Miliano Jonathans (knee) and Oualid Agougil missing this weekend's encounter.

Sparta Rotterdam possible starting lineup:

Bednarek; Martes, Young, Verschuren, Kuipers; Baas, Toornstra; Terho, Mito, Santos; Thorisson

FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:

Barkas; Vesterlund, Horemans, Eerdhuijzen, Zagre; Pohl, Offerhaus; Alarcon, De Wit, Cathline; Stepanov

We say: Sparta Rotterdam 1-1 FC Utrecht

While Sparta enter this clash full of confidence following their clinical victory last weekend, their own unconvincing home record throughout 2026 suggests this will be far from straightforward.

The Cupfighters are desperate to halt their losing slide, and Stepanov's goalscoring presence in the final third could be enough to help the visitors grind out a hard-fought share of the spoils.

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