FC Utrecht will be aiming to avoid a third defeat on the trot in the Eredivisie when they play host to Heracles at the Stadion Galgenwaard on Sunday.
The visitors, meanwhile, ended their run of three games without a win across all competitions last time out and will be looking to keep the juggernaut rolling.
Match preview
FC Utrecht failed to return to winning ways last Sunday when they fell to a 2-1 loss against a rejuvenated Cambuur side at the Cambuur-Stadion.
In an end-to-end contest, Roberts Uldriķis and Jamie Jacobs netted either side of Moussa Sylla's 32nd-minute equaliser to hand the hosts their fourth successive win in all competitions.
Prior to that, Rene Hake's side saw their three-game winning streak come to an end when they lost by the same scoreline away to sixth-place Vitesse on November 7.
This dip in form has seen Utrecht drop to fifth place in the Eredivisie standings, four points ahead of NEC Nijmegen just outside the Conference League qualifiers spot.
Heracles, on the other hand, returned to winning ways last time out when they saw off Fortuna Sittard 3-1 at the Erve Asito Stadium.
Belgian forward Ismail Azzaoui put on a sensational individual performance as he netted either side of Zian Flemming's ninth-minute equaliser to hand Heracles the lead heading into the interval before Kaj Sierhuis made sure of the result with a 67th-minute strike.
Prior to that, Frank Wormuth's men failed to taste victory in any of their last three games, picking up one draw and losing twice, including a 2-1 friendly loss against German side Fortuna Dusseldorf on November 11.
With 14 points from 12 games, Heracles are currently 13th on the log, level on points with Groningen and four points above Sparta Rotterdam in the relegation playoff spot.
While Heraclieden will be looking to build on the win last time out, next up is the stern test of taking on an opposing side who are unbeaten in all but one of the last nine encounters between the teams, claiming six wins and two draws in that time.
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Team News
Utrecht will have to make do with the absence of midfielder Reda Akmum and the defensive duo of Christopher Mamengi and Tommy St. Jack, who have all been sidelined through knee injuries.
Mike van der Hoorn has missed each of the last two games after picking up a concussion in the game against Willem II back in October and is a doubt for the hosts.
Similarly, Heracles head into the game with a few injuries to contend with down the spine of the team as the midfield duo of Adrian Szoke and Kasper Jakobsen continue their spells on the sidelines.
German defender Sven Sonnenberg picked up an injury in the friendly game against Fortuna Dusseldorf two weeks back and is also out of contention for the visitors.
Twenty-six-year-old midfielder Rai Vloet, who has three goals to his name so far, will also play no part in the game after he was recently involved in a severe car accident.
FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:
Paes; Avest, Benamar, Janssen, Zagre; Van Overmeem, Timber; Sylla, Ramselaar, Boussaid; Douvikas
Heracles possible starting lineup:
Blaswich; Sierra, Knoester, Rente, Bakboord; De La Torre, Schoofs, Azzaoui; Fadiga, Burgzorg, Sierhuis
We say: FC Utrecht 2-0 Heracles
After suffering a slump in form in recent weeks, Utrecht will be looking to return to winning ways and strengthen their position in the top half of the table. The visitors have performed poorly away from home, where they still await their first win of the season, and we predict the hosts will take advantage of their home crowd support and come away with all three points.
Joshua Ojele
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 FC Utrecht win with a probability of 59.08%. A draw had a probability of 21.5% and a win for Heracles had a probability of 19.47%.
The most likely scoreline for a FC Utrecht win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.95%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (9.6%) and 2-0 (9.51%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.04%), while for a Heracles win it was 1-2 (5.25%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 9.6% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that FC Utrecht would win this match.
