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

Sparta Rotterdam will need an away win against Heerenveen in the final game of the Eredivisie league season to secure a UEFA Conference League playoff.

Five points splits the two sides with the hosts currently in 11th position, while this Sunday's visitors are eighth in Eredivisie.

Match preview

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A run of four games without a win has meant Heerenveen will not be playing for anything in the last game of the season and are set for a mid-table finish, but with a win on the weekend they could climb to 10th which will match their finish last season before COVID-19 stopped the league.

Johnny Jansen will be disappointed with his team's last performance on Thursday as they were brushed aside away from home in a 3-1 victory for league strugglers Emmen.

Heerenveen conceded two penalties which Sergio Pena put past Erwin Mulder, and those were followed by a strike from Nikolai Laursen to make it 3-0, prior to loanee forward Benjamin Nygren scoring a very late consolation goal.

De Superfriezen will be very disappointed that it is not themselves who are currently occupying a playoff position in the league, which they have seen slip out of their hands after only winning one game in their last eight.

Alternatively, the visitors have been on a very impressive run with only one defeat in nine games putting themselves in a very strong position in the last playoff position going into the final gameweek of the season.

Sparta Rotterdam failed to make it four wins on the bounce at home to Utrecht on Thursday, settling for a point in a goalless draw.

The game was very lacklustre as the home side allowed Utrecht to dominate 63% of the possession and both teams failed to convert their chances to score.

De Kasteelheren went into Thursday's game following an impressive 3-0 victory over fourth-placed Vitesse, with Bryan Smeets opening the scoring in the first half and then creating the second for Lennart Thy, before substitute Emanuel Emegha made it three.

Henk Fraser will be hoping for a similar performance from his side this weekend to make up for their 4-1 defeat to Heerenveen when the two teams met earlier in the season.

Team News

After a lack of discipline in their last game, which saw Jansen's side gain two red cards, Heerenveen will now be without midfielder Lasse Schone and defender Syb van Ottele due to suspension with the bans carrying into the first two games of next season.

Henk Veerman and Joey Veerman both returned to the starting lineup last time out after returning from a period of isolation and are likely to retain their places in the team on the weekend.

The visitors have been boosted in their last two games - when they have kept two clean sheets - by the return of Bart Vriends from a thigh injury to the starting XI for the first time since March.

However, Sparta Rotterdam remain without Tim Coremans, who has missed the last nine months of action due to a shoulder problem.

Heerenveen possible starting lineup:
Mulder; Kaib, Van Hecke, Dresevic, Floranus; Kongolo, Schone, De Jong; Nygren, Van Bergen, Halilovic

Sparta Rotterdam possible starting lineup:
Okoye; Abels, Heylen, Beugelsdijk, Fortes; Auassar, Burger, Smeets; Duarte, Mijnans, Thy

We say: Heerenveen 1-1 Sparta Rotterdam

Heerenveen have the far superior head-to-head record out of the two sides, going unbeaten in their last five meetings and winning their last six home matches against Sparta Rotterdam in all competitions.

However, the visitors will be desperate to put an end to this poor record as they aim to finish in the playoff positions. This will make it an entertaining affair with the teams cancelling each other out in a 1-1 draw.