Fortuna Sittard play host to PEC Zwolle on Sunday evening with the two relegation-threatened clubs separated by just two points in the Eredivisie standings.
However, both teams have improved significantly of late, creating the prospect of a competitive fixture at the Fortuna Sittard Stadion.
Match preview
There was a time earlier this season when Sittard and PEC Zwolle looked close to certainties to be relegated from the Eredivisie at the end of the season.
Although they remain in danger of dropping into the second tier, it is no longer a foregone conclusion with just seven points now separating the bottom eight clubs.
That is a consequence of Sittard and PEC Zwolle both finding some form, particularly the visitors who have recently collected 11 points from a possible 18.
Sittard's return is far less impressive over the same period, but wins over Heerenveen and Groningen have kept the club within touching distance of moving outside of the bottom three.
On a negative note, Sjors Ultee did witness Sittard let slip a lead at Cambuur last time out before eventually losing by a 2-1 scoreline.
Zwolle also experienced disappointment through losing out at Heracles, being denied a win which would have moved the club into the 16th position that is currently occupied by their next opponents.
Despite Zwolle scoring half of their league goals for the season since January 14, Daishawn Redan and Mees de Wit sit at the top of the scoring charts with just four goals apiece.
Mats Seuntjens currently stands at Sittard's leading marksman with eight strikes, but the 29-year-old has now netted just once in his last 10 appearances.
The reverse fixture took place at the start of December with Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee Nigel Lonwijk scoring the only goal of the game for Sittard.
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Team News
Barring any unforeseen injury issues, Ultee could stick with the Sittard XI which started the game at Cambuur.
Former Wolves forward Paul Gladon has recently linked up with the club, but he is unlikely to be considered for a starting spot at this stage.
Michael Verrips, Ivo Pinto and Samy Baghdadi are all sidelined through injury.
As for PEC Zwolle, they are missing the trio of Sam Kersten, De Wit and Samir Lagsir, all through fitness issues.
Despite succumbing to defeat at Heracles, Dick Schreuder may be prepared to stick with the same starting lineup.
Fortuna Sittard possible starting lineup:
Osch; Samaris, Siovas, Angha; Tirpan, Rienstra, Flemming, Duarte, Cox; Seuntjens, Benschop
PEC Zwolle possible starting lineup:
Lamprou; Polen, Nakayama, Voet; Reijnders, Clement, Saymak, Belt, Paal; Darfalou, Redan
We say: Fortuna Sittard 1-1 PEC Zwolle
While the stakes are marginally higher for PEC Zwolle ahead of this contest, both teams can ill-afford a defeat. With that in mind, we expect a low-scoring affair, but the visitors' greater consistency of late could help them secure a share of the spoils.
Top tip
Darren Plant
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 Fortuna Sittard win with a probability of 40.21%. A win for PEC Zwolle had a probability of 33.56% and a draw had a probability of 26.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Fortuna Sittard win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.08%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.6%) and 2-0 (6.95%). The likeliest PEC Zwolle win was 0-1 (9.05%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.47%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 9% likelihood.
