Aiming to keep any slim hopes of escaping the Eredivisie table's bottom three alive, Willem II will travel to take on Fortuna Sittard on Sunday.
Following a 12-match winless run and seven-match losing streak, the visitors find themselves in the relegation playoff place, seven points behind 15th spot with just five games remaining.
Match preview
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Fortuna Sittard return to action on Sunday aiming to end a winless run and their slide down the Eredivisie table, with the chance to all but cement their top-flight status for next season despite a recent rut.
Following a 10th-placed finish last time around, they sat as high as eighth mid-March on the back of consecutive victories, leaving Danny Buijs's side on 32 points from 25 league outings, but they have since added just one more point to that tally in four further attempts.
Those victories were firstly followed by a pair of consecutive defeats at the hands of Groningen and Sparta Rotterdam, before they snatched a point in a trip to Twente as Rodrigo Guth levelled the scores at a goal apiece in injury time.
Aiming to build on that result and make a return to winning ways, Fortunezen hosted Feyenoord last Saturday but came away empty-handed, as Jakub Moder netted both goals in a 2-0 away win.
Having now quickly dropped to 13th spot and just two points above 15th-placed PEC Zwolle as a result of the recent slump, Fortuna Sittard will aim to get back to winning ways on Sunday with a chance to move back into the top half in a tight mid-table pack.
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Their visitors, meanwhile, make the trip aiming to end a dismal run of form and keep any hopes of automatic safety in the Eredivisie alive.
In their first season back in the Dutch top flight, Willem II looked set for a comfortable mid-table finish, having ended 2024 on 22 points from 17 outings on the back of consecutive victories.
The Tricolores have failed to build on that start since, though, earning just two more points from their first 12 games of the new year, and they head into Sunday's trip in the midst of a seven-match losing run which has triggered a drop into the bottom three, having conceded 18 goals across those games and only scored five.
Following a 3-1 loss away at Heerenveen, Peter Maes's side most recently hosted leaders Ajax last weekend, and in a more valiant effort they led heading into the final 15 minutes through Emilio Kehrer, only for Oliver Valaker Edvardsen and Wout Weghorst to get on the scoresheet and snatch all three points for the visitors.
Now heading into the final five games of the season in the relegation playoff place, seven points adrift of safety and five above the drop zone, Willem II will be desperate to build on a more positive display last time out and begin narrowing their gap to 15th place with a first win of the calendar year at the 13th time of asking.
Team News
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Fortuna Sittard remain hit by injury issues, with Samuel Bastien, Alen Halilovic, Alessio Da Cruz, Daley Sinkgraven and Josip Mitrovic set to remain sidelined.
They also head into Sunday without midfielder Edouard Michut, who was sent off in last week's defeat to Feyenoord, meaning Luka Tunjic may get the nod to join key man Ryan Fosso in the engine room from the outset.
Kaj Sierhuis will lead the line in just his seventh league appearance of the season, having recently returned from a long-term injury after netting 12 Eredivisie goals for Fortunezen last time around.
Willem II will remain without Boris Lambert and Mickael Tirpan due to ongoing injures.
Forward Kyan Vaesen will also miss out as he serves the final game of a three-match ban, leaving Jeremy Bokila to lead the line.
Emilio Kehrer will join him in attack after opening his account for the season last time out, while key man Jesse Bosch will again be relied upon in midfield, particularly in the absence of Lambert.
Fortuna Sittard possible starting lineup:
Branderhorst; Pinto, Van Ottele, Guth, Dijks; Tunjic, Fosso; Aiko, Bullaude, Dahlhaus; Sierhuis
Willem II possible starting lineup:
Didillon; Mathijsen, St Jago, Schouten, Sigurgeirsson; Bosch, Sandra, Lachkar; Kehrer, Bokila, Meerveld
We say: Fortuna Sittard 2-1 Willem II
Fortuna Sittard seem to be limping towards the end of the season after showing plenty of promise, while Willem II showed positive signs in their eventual defeat to Ajax, but we still back the hosts to get past a visiting side who are winless in 12 games and have shown their inability to get over the line in tight games in recent months.
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Sam Varley
