In search of a third consecutive win across all competitions, Vitesse welcome Heracles to the GelreDome in round 16 of the 2021-22 Eredivisie season on Sunday.
On the other hand, the visitors are looking to arrest a slump in form which has seen them lose three games on the bounce.
Match preview
Vitesse moved within touching distance of a place in the next round of the Conference League courtesy of a 3-1 victory over Slovenian outfit Mura on Thursday.
First-half goals from Thomas Buitink, Lois Openda and Daan Huisman secured all three points for Thomas Letsch's men in Arnhem.
Back home, the Airborne Football Club demolished newcomers Cambuur 6-1 at the Cambuur-Stadion on December 4 to move up to fifth place on the log.
Awaiting them next is a clash versus an opposing side who have lost each of the last three meetings by a combined score of 7-0.
Having picked up just eight of their 26 points on home turf, Sunday's hosts have some picking up to do in front of their fans if they are to continue rising up the league standings.
Heracles were defeated for the first time in six home matches following a 1-0 loss to Heerenveen on Saturday.
Joey Veerman's opener 11 minutes proved to be the difference as Frank Wormuth's men fell to a ninth defeat of the campaign.
The Almelo-based club are 15th on the log, just four points above the drop zone with the season approaching its midway point.
One of three teams without an away win so far, Sunday's visitors will need to get going on the road and now is as good a time as any to start.
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Team News
Twenty-year-old Daan Reiziger is yet to feature for the away side this term due to a knee injury and is without a timetable regarding his return to action.
Slovakian midfielder Matus Bero is a doubt for this weekend's contest due to a head injury which he sustained in midweek.
Rai Vloet has missed his side's last four games due to personal reasons, and the 26-year-old is unavailable for the home side.
Heracles will also be without the services of Danish midfielder Kasper Jakobsen, who is currently sidelined with a knee problem.
Vitesse possible starting lineup:
Schubert; Doekhi, Bazoer, Rasmussen; Yapi, Tronstad, Gboho, Bero, Dasa; Openda, Darfalou
Heracles possible starting lineup:
Blaswich; Quagliata, Knoester, Rente, Bakboord; De La Torre, Kioumourtzoglou, Sierhuis; Fadiga, Burgzorg, Baki
We say: Vitesse 2-1 Heracles
Vitesse have been far from their best on home turf so far but will be expected to come away with all three points in this one nonetheless. We are tipping them to emerge triumphant in what should be a keenly-contested affair.
Top tip
Adepoju Marvellous
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 Vitesse win with a probability of 64.91%. A draw had a probability of 21.1% and a win for Heracles had a probability of 13.95%.
The most likely scoreline for a Vitesse win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.21%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (12.69%) and 2-1 (9.59%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.99%), while for a Heracles win it was 0-1 (5.2%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.6% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a 2-1 win for Vitesse in this match and our data analysis correctly predicted the win for Vitesse.
