After earning a point from an extraordinary six-goal thriller last weekend, relegation-threatened FC Volendam will welcome Sparta Rotterdam to Kras Stadion on Sunday afternoon in the Eredivisie.
De Palingboeren shared the spoils in remarkable fashion with NEC last time out, while Sparta suffered a shock home loss to top-flight newcomers Almere City.
Match preview
Volendam recorded only their second draw of the Eredivisie campaign last Sunday with a 3-3 stalemate against NEC Nijmegen, who netted twice in added time to force a share of the points after goals from Robert Muhren and Milan de Haan handed the visitors at Goffertstadion a 2-1 lead after 90 minutes.
Matthias Kohler's men enjoyed plenty of possession following the first-half dismissal of NEC winger Elayis Tavsan for the collection of two yellow cards, but Volendam were unable to make their numerical advantage truly count, with strikes from Ogawa and Magnus Mattsson late on meaning the visitors had to settle for a point.
Home supporters making their way to Kras Stadion on Sunday afternoon will be hoping for a repeat of their most-recent match at the venue, with goals from De Haan, Muhren and centre-back Benaissa Benamar in the second period firing De Palingboeren to a 3-1 success over high-flyers Excelsior.
Volendam are currently occupying 16th position in the Eredivisie standings after collecting eight points from their opening 11 league matches, meaning Kohler's side have a real job on their hands of avoiding a return to the Dutch second tier following a 14th-placed finish last season.
With last campaign's top goalscorer Daryl van Mieghem moving to Eerste Divisie outfit ADO Den Haag in the summer transfer window, Sunday's hosts have had to rely on the offensive instincts of 34-year-old Muhern, who has already matched his tally of five league strikes from last term.
Sparta Rotterdam's three-game unbeaten run across all competitions came to an abrupt end last weekend as they lost 2-1 against newly-promoted Almere, who are beginning to make a real fist of their maiden Eredivisie campaign after failing to win any of their opening six contests.
Goals from Norwegian forward Kornelius Hansen and Frenchman Thomas Robinet put the visitors into a commanding two-goal lead at a stunned Sparta-Stadion Het Kasteel, and although the hosts netted a consolation in the final 10 minutes through midfielder Joshua Kitolano, they were unable to avoid their fourth loss of the league term.
After a sixth-placed finish in the 2022-23 Eredivisie, the Rotterdam-based club are on a mission to secure a Europa Conference League playoff position once again this campaign, and Jeroen Rijsdijk's men are sitting inside the top nine of the standings, two points ahead of Fortuna Sittard in ninth.
Unlike the majority of the outfits in the top half of the division, Sparta have struggled to score freely this term, having made the net ripple on just 13 occasions in their opening 11 fixtures, with Scandinavian forward Tobias Lauritsen currently leading the club's Golden Boot Race with three strikes.
Sparta had won six and drew one of the previous seven clashes against Volendam until the meeting between the sides in May, when centre-back Xavier Mbuyamba bagged a brace to cancel out Koki Saito's opener at Kras Stadion, ending De Palingboeren's term with a significant victory.
Team News
Volendam remain without the services of right-back Brian Plat on Sunday afternoon, with the 23-year-old having been out of action since early October.
Due to the Dutchman's absence, Dane Oskar Buur will start in that full-back role at Kras Stadion, with Josh Flint and Benamar making up the heart of the hosts' backline.
Kohler also has limited options in his engine room ahead of this weekend due to the injury of Joey Antonioli - the academy graduate has not featured since the 1-0 win over FC Utrecht last month.
Sparta are set to be without centre-back Mike Eerdhuijzen on their travels once again, with the 23-year-old last appearing for the visitors in June.
There was plenty of excitement surrounding the summer arrival of Barcelona youngster Sergi Rosanas, but the Spaniard is yet to feature in the Netherlands due to injury.
Rijsdijk is set to make some alterations to his forward line on Sunday, with Canadian Charles-Andreas Brym fighting to earn a starting berth at the expense of Pelle Clement.
FC Volendam possible starting lineup:
Backhaus; Buur, Benamar, Flint, Cox; Mirani, Twigt, Ould-Chikh, De Haan, Johnson; Muhren
Sparta Rotterdam possible starting lineup:
Olij; Bakari, Vriends, Velthuis, Van der Kust; Kitolano, De Guzman, Neghli, Verschueren, Brym; Lauritsen
We say: FC Volendam 1-2 Sparta Rotterdam
The added-time antics during Volendam's last fixture against NEC could have taken its toll emotionally, however the hosts will be confident of earning maximum points here.
Sparta should be raring to get back to winning ways after a poor result at home to Almere last weekend, and we believe that the visitors will collect all three points at Kras Stadion.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Carter White
