Fresh off the back of ending their run of 11 consecutive defeats, Willem II take a trip to the Sparta Stadion Het Kasteel to square off against Sparta Rotterdam in round 22 of the Eredivisie on Sunday.
The hosts, on the other hand, head into the game without a win in any of their last 10 games across all competitions and will be looking to end this dry spell.
Match preview
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Sparta Rotterdam failed to surge from the relegation places last Sunday when they fell to a humbling 4-0 defeat at the hands of a rampant Feyenoord side.
In a one-sided affair at the De Kuip Stadium, Orkun Kokcu and Alireza Jahanbakhsh put the hosts in a commanding two-goal lead heading into the break before Guus Til scored a second-half brace to cap off a sensational individual performance.
Henk Fraser's men have now failed to win any of their last 10 games across all competitions, claiming four draws and losing six since a 3-0 win over Sunday's visitors in November's reverse fixture.
With 14 points from 21 games, Sparta Rotterdam are currently bottom but one in the Eredivisie standings, just one point above rock-bottom PEC Zwolle.
Their struggles has been owing to their struggles at the attacking end of the pitch, where they have scored just 16 goals so far, with their luck at the opposite end of the pitch not any better after as they have shipped 35.
They also they boast the league's worst record on home turf after managing just one win and picking up eight points from 11 home outings so far.
Willem II, on the other hand, finally gave their fans something to cheer for last Sunday when they claimed a 3-1 victory over RKC Waalwijk.
In a thrilling contest at the Koning Willem II Stadion, the hosts raced to a comfortable three-goal lead courtesy of a brace from Thijs Oosting and Jizz Hornkamp's 43th-minute strike, before Michiel Kramer grabbed a consolation goal in the 71st minute.
Prior to that, Fred Grim's men were on a run of 14 games without a win across all competitions, losing each of their previous 11 outings, including a 3-0 loss at the hands of Waalwijk back in October which saw them crash out of the KNVB Beker.
With 21 points from 21 games, Willem II are currently 15th in the league standings and this has been owing to their struggles away from home, where they have won just two and picked up eight points from 10 games.
Willem II will feel confident in coming away with the desired result on Sunday as they go up against an opposing side who they have defeated in 11 of their last 20 encounters, claiming three draws and losing six in that time.
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Team News
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Sparta Rotterdam will take to the pitch without the services of 29-year-old goalkeeper Benjamin van Leer, who has been out of action since early December after sustaining a shoulder injury.
Following the defeat against Feyenoord last time out, De Kasteelheren have now failed to score in each of their last two outings and we expect Fraser to make a few changes at the attacking end of the pitch.
While we expect new signing Adrian Dalmau to retain his spot in the XI, Lennart Thy could be pushed down to the substitutes' bench with Mario Engels pushing for a starting role.
While Freek Heerkens returns from his injury lay-off against Waalwijk, Wesley Spieringhs continues his spell on the Willem II injury table after picking up a knee injury back in October.
Oosting, who struck twice in the aforementioned game, has hit the ground running since joining the club from AZ Alkmaar back in January and the 21-year-old will certainly be one to keep an eye out for.
Veteran goalkeeper Robbin Ruiter will play no part in Sunday's game after the 34-year-old was released from the club back in January.
Sparta Rotterdam possible starting lineup:
Okoye; Vriends, Abels, Beugelsdijk; Van Crooy, Namli, De Kamps, Mijnans, Meijers; Thy, Dalmau
Willem II possible starting lineup:
Brondeel; Owusu, Dammers, Heerkens, Kohlert; Saddiki, Llonch; Nunnely, Oosting, Svensson; Hornkamp
We say: Sparta Rotterdam 1-1 Willem II
Willem II will head into the game with renewed confidence and will look to build on last Sunday's victory over Waalwijk. However, we predict the hosts will take the game to the Tricolores Superkruiken to avoid a third defeat on the bounce and force a share of the spoils.
Top tip
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 Sparta Rotterdam win with a probability of 49.15%. A win for Willem II had a probability of 25.51% and a draw had a probability of 25.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sparta Rotterdam win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.49%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.39%) and 2-0 (8.96%). The likeliest Willem II win was 0-1 (7.73%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.05%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with an 11.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Sparta Rotterdam in this match.
