Heracles and Fortuna Sittard will bring their 2023-24 Eredivisie campaigns to an end when they face off in their final game of the season at Erve Asito in Almelo in Sunday afternoon.
The hosts have safely navigated the season and are set for a solid mid-table finish, while the visitors are just three points above Excelsior, who currently sit in the relegation playoff spot.
Match preview
After winning three of four league games between mid-April and the start of May, Heracles looked very likely to avoid the drop in their first season back in the top flight.
However, having lost their last four league games on the bounce, they are now entering the final day of the season needing at least a point from this crucial match to avoid competing in the relegation playoffs.
HAFC suffered a painful 4-0 defeat on the road last week to 16th-placed Excelsior, which left them on 32 points after 33 games, and followed a 5-0 thumping at the hands of RKC Waalwijk, who are also in the mix to avoid the the playoffs.
Erwin van de Looi's side have the worst goal difference in the league, barring relegated Volendam and Vitesse and could find themselves in the bottom three this weekend if they lose here and RKC and the Red and Blacks win their matches.
Playing in their favour, though, is that both those teams have fairly tricky final-day fixtures, with Volendam playing host to Go Ahead Eagles while Excelsior travel to face league runners-up Feyenoord.
When these sides met back in November, Fortuna Sittard secured an impressive 4-1 home victory, which remains their joint-biggest win of the 2023-24 league campaign.
However, they come into this match riding a seven-match winless streak, including four defeats and three draws, with the most recent of those coming last weekend agaisnt newly-crowned champions PSV Eindhoven.
Inigo Cordoba gave Fortunezen an unexpected lead inside the first half-hour of the match, but they were unable to hold on to their advantage, with Jerdy Schouten finding the equaliser for PSV in the 72nd minute.
Danny Buijs's side are also on a three-match away losing streak and winless in their last four, and while they are in no danger of being relegated, they will want to sign off the season on a winning note.
Team News
Heracles are likely to be missing several players for this match, including regular first-team members Sven Sonnenberg and Emil Hansson, who are out with a knock and calf injury, respectively.
Sava-Arangel Cesticis is facing an extended period on the treatment table as he continues his recovery from a broken hand, while Jannes Wieckhoff (hamstring) and Stijn Bultman (knee) are flagged as doubts.
Fortuna Sittard announced that Kaj Sierhuis had suffered a serious knee injury following their stalemate against Go Ahead Eagles at the start of the month, and the striker has been ruled out for this match.
Joining Sierhuis on the sidelines are midfielders Oguzhan Ozyakup and Arianit Ferati, as well as goalkeeper Michael Verrips, all of whom are suffering from various muscle injuries.
Heracles possible starting lineup:
Brouwer; Bakboord, Leerdam, Hoogma, Oppegard; De Keersmaecker, Hrustic, Roosken, Bruijn, Limbombe; Sankoh
Fortuna Sittard possible starting lineup:
Koopmans; Pinto, Siovas, Guth, Dijks; Rosier, Voet; Lonwijk, Peterson, Cordoba; Da Cruz
We say: Heracles 1-2 Fortuna Sittard
While Heracles are likely to survive the drop this season, they would love nothing more than to take something from this match to maintain their 14th-placed standing or even overtake Almere City into 13th. However, their form of late is far from inspiring, and we feel they will have to rely on results elsewhere to help them stay out of the bottom three.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
