Two sides fighting to break out of the bottom three in the Eredivisie table will do battle in a pivotal contest on Friday, as SBV Excelsior welcome FC Volendam to the Stadion Woudestein.
A rare victory at the weekend saw the visitors move up to 17th spot, now only trailing their hosts in the relegation playoff place by three points and automatic safety by five.
Match preview
SBV Excelsior return to the Stadion Woudestein on Friday with the aim of giving their Eredivisie survival bid a much-needed boost, having dropped into the bottom three in recent weeks in what has been a tough campaign on the whole.
A 3-0 beating of Heerenveen in mid-January did leave the Roodzwarten in a promising position in their bid to maintain top-flight status this term, moving onto 20 points from 18 games, but they have since endured a dismal run in the second half of the term, adding just two more points to that tally in 11 further attempts.
The most recent of their two draws in that span came at home to fellow strugglers RKC Waalwijk in mid-March, ending a six-match losing streak, but they have been unable to build on that and have slipped into another rut since, now heading into Friday's game on the back of three more losses on the bounce.
That began with tricky meetings against Go Ahead Eagles and league leaders PSV Eindhoven, with Marinus Dijkhuizen's side falling to 3-0 and 2-0 defeats respectively, before they most recently met 14th-placed PEC Zwolle on Saturday and again fell short, coming away empty-handed from a disappointing 2-1 loss with Lance Duijvestijn's 86th-minute goal coming too late to spark a turnaround.
Having now dropped into the relegation playoff place in the Dutch top flight as a result of their poor fortunes since the turn of the year, with a two-point gap up to safety but just a three-point lead over the automatic drop zone, Excelsior will know they must correct their form in the final five games of the campaign if they are to stand a chance of avoiding the drop, starting with what would be a first league win in almost three months on Friday.
Their visitors, meanwhile, head into the game with more momentum in the fight for survival, albeit with a three-point deficit up to the home side in the playoff place with five games remaining.
In what has been a particularly difficult season in the Dutch top flight, Volendam looked all but confined to the drop as a 10-match winless run, culminating in a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of AZ Alkmaar, left them bottom on just 14 points from 26 matches.
While that streak was then extended to 12 matches, Regillio Simons's side have since moved into a competitive position with an impressive upturn in form, firstly taking points from credible draws with Almere City and second-placed Feyenoord before hosting RKC Waalwijk in a true six-pointer on Sunday and making a crucial return to winning ways with their first league victory of 2024.
Robert Muhren gave the Palingboeren a 2-0 lead with a first-half brace, and after the hosts drew level around the hour mark, Darius Johnson popped up with the decisive goal 15 minutes from time to see his side come out on top at the Kras Stadion, moving off the foot of the table as a result.
Volendam do, however, still trail Friday's hosts in the relegation playoff place by three points and sit five adrift of safety with just five games left to play, and they will be desperate to boost their slim hopes with a second straight three-point haul.
Team News
Excelsior continue to contend with a long and unenviable injury list heading into Friday's key contest, as Couhaib Driouech, Arthur Zagre, Lennard Hartjes, Kik Pierie, Serano Seymor, Ian Smeulers and Troy Parrott will all remain confined to the treatment room.
In the absence of Pierie, Zagre, Seymor and Smeulers, Siebe Horemans, Sven Nieuwpoort, Casper Widell and Siem de Moes should line up in an unchanged back four from their recent meeting with PEC Zwolle, while Julian Baas remains a key man at the base of the midfield in their 4-2-3-1 shape.
At the other end of the pitch, with top scorer Parrott out, Richie Omorowa may again lead the line, while Lance Duijvestijn will continue in the middle of a supporting trio after his goal last time out with Lazaros Lamprou and Kenzo Goudmijn hoping to keep their spots on the wings.
Regillio Simons should deploy an unchanged Volendam starting XI from their win over RKC Waalwijk last time out, with Joey Antonioli and Xavier Mbuyamba remaining confined to the treatment room.
Robert Muhren marked his return to the starting XI in that game with a brace to take his tally to eight goals in 20 Eredivisie appearances this term, and he is bound to again lead the line with Darius Johnson also set to continue on the left wing.
Elsewhere, Damon Mirani and George Cox will again partner up at the base of the midfield, while Benaissa Benamar and Josh Flint will play at the heart of a back four.
SBV Excelsior possible starting lineup:
Van Gassel; Horemans, Nieuwpoort, Widell, De Moes; Sandra, Baas; Lamprou, Duijvestijn, Goudmijn; Omorowa
FC Volendam possible starting lineup:
Backhaus; Buur, Benamar, Flint, Plat; Mirani, Cox; Booth, Maulun, Johnson; Muhren
We say: SBV Excelsior 1-2 FC Volendam
We anticipate a hard-fought encounter in what is a true six-pointer in the Eredivisie fight for survival on Friday.
With the hosts' squad decimated by injures and the visitors gaining momentum in their unlikely survival bid, we fancy Volendam to make it back-to-back triumphs and move level with their opponents in the process.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
