Defending champions Feyenoord will get their 2024-25 KNVB Beker campaign underway with a last-32 meeting against lower league opposition MVV Maastricht at De Geusselt on Tuesday evening.
Maastricht, meanwhile, will take to the field on cup duty for the second time this term, having defeated fellow Eerste Divisie outfit Den Bosch in the previous round.
Match preview
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Having gone all the way in the Dutch Cup last time out, beating NEC in the grand finale, Feyenoord got their season underway with a Johan Cruyff Shield matchup against Eredivisie champions PSV Eindhoven which ended in a 5-4 victory on penalties.
One win from their four opening league matches subsequently saw Brian Priske's men make a slow start to their league campaign, and despite a resurgence of late, they remain fourth in the table and seven points shy of leaders PSV ahead of Sunday's heavyweight encounter.
The Rotterdam-based outfit have scored the second most goals in the Eredivisie so far (40) and will be confident of putting on another attacking masterclass fresh off the back of a 5-2 mauling of Heracles last time out.
Santiago Gimenez grabbed a hat-trick in the aforementioned game to take his tally for the campaign to six goals in five games since returning from an injury that had sidelined him for two months.
Gimenez's return to action could be the catalyst for a Feyenoord title charge in the second half, but in the meantime, De Stadionclub now set out to kick off their KNVB Beker title defence on a winning note to make it four straight victories in a row.
Tuesday's meeting will be the first edition of this fixture since 2000, although it is worth noting that the visitors have only been beaten in two of the previous 18 encounters, highlighting their historical supremacy in this matchup.
Missing the promotion playoffs only due to an inferior goal difference last season, Maastricht were expected to pick up from where they left off, but it is safe to say things have not gone as planned.
After managing just one win from the first nine matches, Edwin Hermans's men have not managed to get themselves going midway through the campaign and currently sit 14th in the Eerste Divisie table, a whopping 10 points adrift of playoff contention.
Amid their topsy-turvy league journey to date, De Sterrendragers got the better of Den Bosch in the sides' round-of-64 matchup on November 30, claiming a comeback 2-1 triumph thanks to goals from Ozgur Aktas and Ferre Slegers.
A 2-0 defeat to ADO Den Haag at the Bingoal Stadium on Friday means Maastricht have now come out on top in just three of 10 games across all competitions either side of their cup victory last month.
While Tuesday's hosts have fared well in front of goal during that span, scoring 16 times, their defensive showing has been shambolic, to say the least, with 18 goals conceded and only one clean sheet recorded.
- W
Team News
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Igor Paixao was forced off with an injury scare in the early exchanges of Feyenoord's win over Heracles, and the Brazilian international is not expected to feature here.
Anis Hadj Moussa grabbed an assist within 25 minutes of coming on for Paixao in the aforementioned game, meaning he has now directly contributed to a goal in seven of his last eight matches.
Julian Carranza and Ayase Ueda are ruled out for the away side through muscle injuries, while Quilindschy Hartman and Jordan Lotomba miss out through knee and leg injuries respectively.
Maastricht's Tim Zeegers lasted just 20 minutes on his return to action from a one-game suspension having had to come off with an injury, making him a doubt to play any part in this one.
Should Zeegers be deemed unfit to participate, 20-year-old Andrea Librici will be expected to fill in at right-back for his 10th starting appearance of the season.
MVV Maastricht possible starting lineup:
Matthys; Schenk, Coomans, Aktas, Zeegers; El Basri, Smeets, Kleinen; Buifrahi, Mmaee, Timas
Feyenoord possible starting lineup:
Bijlow; Gonzalez, Beelen, Nieuwkoop, Read; Zechiel, Zerrouki, In-beom; Hadj Moussa, Osman, Ivanusec
We say: MVV Maastricht 0-3 Feyenoord
With one eye on this weekend's crunch clash against PSV, Feyenoord are expected to ring the changes for this one, but we still fancy them to cruise to a routine victory at the end of the 90 minutes.
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