With the run-in heating up, a key battle at the bottom end of the Eredivisie table will take place at the Kras Stadion on Sunday, as FC Volendam welcome RKC Waalwijk.
Ahead of the final six matches, the hosts find themselves rooted to the foot of the division, six behind the relegation playoff place and eight worse off than their visitors who sit just above the bottom three.
Match preview
FC Volendam head into the weekend in an increasingly desperate position in their bid to maintain their Eredivisie status this term, having failed to significantly narrow their gap to safety recently.
The Palingboeren have sat in the bottom three of the Dutch top flight for almost the entirety of the campaign thus far, having only earned 16 points from their 28 outings while managing just three victories.
The most recent of those wins came in December, and under the tutelage of Regillio Simons, they have since put just five more points on the board in 12 attempts in 2024.
While their chances to make up ground in the fight for survival are quickly running out, Simons's men may at least head into the weekend with a slight feeling of optimism following a pair of commendable draws in their last two outings, firstly snatching a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw away at Almere City thanks to Robert Muhren's 90th-minute leveller, before most recently hosting second-placed Feyenoord and holding out in a goalless stalemate.
Those pleasing results aside, Volendam do face a six-point deficit up to the relegation playoff place and an eight-point gap to automatic safety with just 18 left to fight for, and they will be desperate to keep any hope alive and reduce the latter to five points with a first league win in almost four months on Sunday.
Their visitors, meanwhile, will set out to pull further clear of the basement side and the bottom three as a whole at the weekend, having greatly improved their own survival hopes in recent weeks.
After 24 games of the Eredivisie campaign, in their bid to maintain their top-flight status again this term after enjoying a ninth-placed finish last time around, RKC Waalwijk found themselves in a concerning position at the bottom end of the division, as three straight defeats left them on just 18 points from 24 matches.
Henk Fraser's side appear to have turned a corner since, though, now heading into the weekend in the midst of a four-match unbeaten streak, firstly ending their tough run with a 3-1 triumph at home to Vitesse early last month, thanks to goals from David Min, Reuven Niemeijer and Michiel Kramer, before playing out three consecutive draws in their last three games.
After meetings with Excelsior and Heerenveen finished level at a goal apiece, RKC most recently hosted Almere City on Thursday and again shared the points as neither side found a goal to break the deadlock.
Having now escaped the bottom three thanks to their upturn in form, albeit with just a two-point lead over the relegation playoff place with six games to go, RKC Waalwijk will know their work is far from done and will set out to extend their unbeaten streak and lead with a victory on Sunday.
Team News
FC Volendam continue to deal with several injury issues heading into Sunday's contest, with Xavier Mbuyamba, Joey Antonioli and Diego Gustavo bound to remain confined to the treatment room.
Regillio Simons is unlikely to make many changes from their impressive goalless draw with Feyenoord on Thursday, with Oskar Buur, Benaissa Benamar, Josh Flint and Brian Plat set to line up in an unaltered back four, while George Cox and Damon Mirani will continue at the base of the midfield.
One change could come in attack, with top scorer Robert Muhren likely to come back in up front from the outset, after coming off the bench at half time on Thursday, while Newcastle United loanee Garang Kuol will hope to earn a starting berth in a supporting trio.
Key RKC Waalwijk defender Shawn Adewoye has missed their last two Eredivisie games through injury and will likely remain confined to the sidelines at the weekend, leaving Dario van den Buijs and Jurien Gaari to again partner up at the back after their clean sheet against Almere City on Thursday.
Following a run of substitute appearances, veteran forward Michiel Kramer should come back in to lead the line from the outset, having netted a team-high tally of seven Eredivisie goals so far this term after notching up 12 in the top flight last time around.
That could see David Min drop into the trio behind a lone striker, while Godfried Roemeratoe and Yassin Oukili should continue their partnership in midfield.
FC Volendam possible starting lineup:
Backhaus; Buur, Benamar, Flint, Plat; Mirani, Cox; Booth, Maulun, Kuol; Muhren
RKC Waalwijk possible starting lineup:
Vaessen; Lelieveld, Gaari, Van Den Buijs, Meijers; Roemeratoe, Oukili; Margaret, Seuntjens, Min; Kramer
We say: FC Volendam 1-1 RKC Waalwijk
Both teams have shown their resilience in recent weeks, and we anticipate a cagey low-scoring encounter at the weekend as a result.
While a draw is certainly not sufficient for Volendam's survival hopes, we do not see them outclassing the visitors and instead see a share of the spoils as the most likely outcome.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
