Preview:Vitesse vs. Almere City - prediction, team news, lineups

Two teams in dire need of a victory go head to head at the GelreDome on Saturday as Vitesse entertain the challenge of Almere City on Saturday.

The hosts have won just one of their last nine matches across all competitions, while the visitors are winless in three consecutive matches.

Match preview

Vitesse were on the receiving end of a comprehensive 3-1 defeat against RKC Waalwijk in Saturday's encounter between the sides at the Mandemakers Stadion.

Edward Sturing's men fell behind to David Min's opener just shy of the half-hour mark but managed to restore parity through Paxten Aaronson before strikes from Reuven Niemeijer and Michiel Kramer put them to the sword.

As a result, Geel en Zwart remain bottom but one in the Eredivisie table, five points adrift of safety with the season heading into its final stages.

Next up is the task of facing off against an opposing outfit who suffered a 5-0 thrashing in the only previous edition of this fixture back in December.

Still looking for a first home league win of 2024, Saturday's hosts will need to get going in front of their fans if they are to steer clear of relegation danger.

Almere City had to make do with a share of the spoils for the second game running in a 1-1 stalemate against Utrecht at the Yanmar Stadion on Saturday.

Alex Pastoor's men opened the scoring in the third minute through Yoann Cathline but were pegged back 10 minutes later by Sam Lammers's equaliser.

Having amassed 29 points from 25 matches so far, De Zwarte Schapen currently sit 12th in the standings, two points off the top half and a further two adrift of European contention.

Unbeaten in all but one of their last six away matches either side of the New Year, Saturday's visitors have proven themselves to be a tough nut to crack on the road of late.

Team News

Fode Fofana and Miliano Jonathans remain sidelined through knee injuries, with the Dutch duo still yet to feature since the turn of the year.

Davy Propper is also out of contention for the visitors through a muscle injury, although the 32-year-old is not far off a return to action.

Thomas Robinet will be targeting an immediate return to the starting lineup having served a one-game suspension in the draw against Utrecht.

This should see Rajiv van La Parra drop back to the substitutes' bench off the back of a rare start for the forward last time out.

Vitesse possible starting lineup: Room; Arcus, Oroz, Hendriks, Pinto; Aaronson, Kozlowski, Meulensteen; Boutrah, Meerdink, Hadj Moussa

Almere City possible starting lineup: Bakker; Cathline, Barbet, Van Bruggen, Jacobs, Floranus; Pena, Koopmeiners, Resink; Hansen, Nalic

We say: Vitesse 1-0 Almere City

With two of the lowest-scoring teams in the division going head-to-head, we are expecting a nervy and cagey affair. That said, we are backing the hosts to come out on top at the end of the 90 minutes.

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