Both aiming to end losing runs in the fight at the bottom end of the Eredivisie table, NEC and Sparta Rotterdam will do battle at the Goffertstadion on Sunday.
The visitors have dropped into the relegation playoff place following six straight league defeats, while their visitors are five points better off in 11th spot after three losses of their own consecutively.
Match preview
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NEC return to action on Sunday aiming to end a losing run in the Eredivisie and move further away from the drop zone, having previously improved their standing with an upturn in form last month.
After sitting on just seven points from their first eight outings, Rogier Meijer's side enjoyed three resounding wins in a four-match span to move away from the bottom three, beating Heerenveen and RKC Waalwijk 3-0 and thrashing Groningen 6-0 in early November alongside a narrow defeat to Almere City.
They have been unable to build on that and extend their cushion since, though, and now head into the weekend on the back of three straight defeats, firstly hosting Utrecht and Ajax and losing 2-1 on both occasions.
A trip to Go Ahead Eagles then followed last Saturday, and the Nijmegen outfit suffered a thrashing of their own, as Oliver Valaker Edvardsen netted a first-half hat-trick alongside goals from Enric Llansana and Dean James in a 5-0 home triumph, with Meijer's men having trailed 4-0 before the half-hour mark.
While they have built up a five-point lead over the bottom three and a 10-point lead over the automatic relegation places thanks to their improvement last month, NEC will be keen to prevent their losing run extending further on Sunday and make a return to winning ways to narrow their three-point hap to the top half.
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Their visitors, meanwhile, will aim to stop their own rot and move out of the bottom three at the weekend.
Following sixth and eighth-placed Eredivisie finishes over the last two seasons, Sparta Rotterdam have endured a concerning start to the new campaign, currently sitting 16th having only earned 11 points from their first 15 outings.
Their only two victories thus far came in August and September, and De Kasteelheren now find themselves winless in nine top-flight outings including six straight defeats into Sunday's contest, five of which have come under the management of the returning Maurice Steijn.
Aiming to bounce back from losses to Heerenveen, Utrecht, Groningen, AZ Alkmaar and PEC Zwolle, Steijn's men most recently hosted NAC Breda last Saturday and again came away empty-handed, as Jan Van den Bergh and Boy Kemper condemned them to a 2-0 defeat at the Sparta Stadion.
As a result of their rut, Sparta Rotterdam have now dropped into the Eredivisie's relegation playoff place and sit three points adrift of automatic safety, and they will be desperate to correct their form and inspire an improved run with a third league win of the season on Sunday and a first in almost three months.
Team News
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Rogier Meijer may opt to make several changes to his NEC side from last week's 5-0 beating at the hands of Go Ahead Eagles, with Thomas Ouwejan and Eleftherios Lyratzis in line to replace Bram Nuytinck and Brayann Pereira after a pair of first-half substitutions in that game.
Koki Ogawa will continue to lead the attack, having netted a team-high tally of seven goals in 15 appearances so far this term, while Sontje Hansen has contributed five from the right wing.
Mees Hoedemakers should return to the midfield from the outset, displacing either Kodai Sano or Dirk Proper.
Maurice Steijn may also make several changes to his Sparta Rotterdam XI to inspire a change in form, although he will be unable to call on Boyd Reith, who saw his substitute appearance cut short last time out.
Tobias Lauritsen and Camiel Neghli should continue at the top end of their 4-2-3-1 setup, having each netted four goals so far this term, while Charles-Andreas Brym and Mohamed Nassoh will hope to come in after Arno Verschueren and Pelle Clement completed the supporting trio last time out.
Clement may drop in to join Joshua Kitolano in the midfield, despite competition from Metinho and Julian Baas.
NEC possible starting lineup:
Roefs; Lyratzis, Ouwejan, Sandler, Verdonk; Hoedemakers, Sano; Hansen, Ouaissa, Onal; Ogawa
Sparta Rotterdam possible starting lineup:
Olij; Young, Quintero, Eerdhuijzen, Van Aanholt; Clement, Kitolano; Neghli, Nassoh, Brym; Lauritsen
We say: NEC 1-1 Sparta Rotterdam
With both sides desperate to end tough runs of form, we anticipate a hard-fought contest on Sunday and 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
