Groningen will be hoping to build on their big win last weekend when they play host to RKC Waalwijk at Euroborg in the Eredivisie on Saturday afternoon.
A victory for the hosts could see them end the weekend in the top half of the league standings, while three points for the visitors will lift them off the bottom of the table.
Match preview
© Imago
Groningen have made a solid return to the top flight this season, currently on 35 points, 11 points clear of the bottom three, and still in with a real shot at a top-half finish before the end of the term.
Trots van het Noorden had a difficult April, when they faced three of the top four in Feyenoord, PSV and Utrecht in succession and lost all three of those matches, conceding three or more goals in each defeat.
However, they ended the month in style, thrashing Heracles 4-1 at home last weekend with Marco Rente, Jorg Schreuders and Leandro Bacuna all getting on the scoresheet before a Brian De Keersmaecker own-goal just before the hour mark.
That result was Dick Lukkien's side's biggest win since the opening day of the season and marked their ninth victory of the campaign, which is their best return in the top flight since 2020-21, when they won 14 en route to a seventh-placed finish.
The hosts have been excellent at home of late, having only lost to PSV in their last 10 league games at Euroborg, a period during which they also maintained six clean sheets, including five shutouts in a row either side of the New Year.
© Imago
Meanwhile, the 2024-25 Eredivisie campaign has been a nightmare for RKC Waalwijk, and with 19 points after 30 games, they are in serious danger of returning to the Eerste Divisie after five seasons in the top flight.
On April 17, the club confirmed that Henk Fraser will no longer be the head coach of RKC Waalwijk after this season, but the 58-year-old has vowed that he is solely focused on helping the team survive the drop despite his imminent departure.
Last weekend, Fraser came up against his former employers, Utrecht, and suffered a 4-0 defeat at home, which extended RKC's winless run to eight matches dating back to the start of February (D2 L6).
The visitors will now head back on the road, where they are winless in four games and conceded two or more goals in each of those matches, while their only away win this season was against fellow relegation candidates Almere City a couple of months ago.
Team News
© Imago
The hosts will be without the services of Fofin Turay and Maxim Mariani for this match due to ongoing injury problems, with Mariani expected to remain sidelined for the remainder of the season.
Wouter Prins returned to the squad after a spell on the treatment table with a muscle injury, and he could get a start this weekend, potentially replacing Thijmen Blokzijl in the defensive quartet.
The visitors, meanwhile, are expected to be missing at least four players for this weekend's trip to Groningen, with Yanick van Osch, Daouda Weidmann, Dario Van Den Buijs and Luuk Wouters out through injury.
Oskar Zawada's absence over the last two games has certainly been felt by RKC, and with no indication of a return for the Pole, Michiel Kramer will continue to lead the line alongside Richonell Margaret.
Groningen possible starting lineup:
Vaessen; Rente, Ekdal, Prins, Peersman; Bacuna, De Jonge, Kwakman, Valente, Schreuders; Van Bergen
RKC Waalwijk possible starting lineup:
Houwen; Al Mazyani, Lelieveld, Van Gelderen, Familia-Castillo; Van de Loo, Oukili, Ihattaren; Kramer, Margaret
We say: Groningen 1-0 RKC Waalwijk
RKC are winless in their last eight league games, six of which ended in defeat, and they have the joint-worst away record in the top flight, with just seven points earned on the road this term.
Groningen are entering this match off the back of a very impressive victory over Heracles last week, which took them to 26 points from 15 home games this season - the eighth-best record in the division - and we feel they will add another three points to their tally in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
