A crunch relegation six-pointer in the 2023-24 Eredivisie season sees Vitesse and FC Volendam lock horns at GelreDome on Sunday afternoon.
Both teams have only managed one victory apiece since the turn of the year and will need to get themselves back on track as soon as possible.
Match preview
Vitesse were beaten for a fifth game on the bounce in an agonising 3-2 defeat against Hercales Almelo at the Erve Asito on Saturday.
Quickfire strikes from Kacper Kozlowski and Melle Meulensteen put Edward Sturing's men in cruise control before a Jordy Bruijn strike and two goals from Jizz Hornkamp completed a remarkable turnaround.
As a result, Geel en Zwart remain rooted to the bottom of the Eredivisie table, a whopping nine points adrift of Excelsior in the race for survival.
Coming up next is the challenge of an opposing outfit who have recorded only one victory in the most recent five editions of this fixture.
Currently with the fewest goals scored on home turf in the division, Sunday's hosts have work to do at the top end of the pitch in their battle for survival.
Volendam were on the receiving end of a 5-1 thrashing against PSV Eindhoven when the teams faced off at the Kras Stadion on Sunday evening.
Regillio Simons's men took a shock lead in the second minute through Jordan Teze but saw their advantage vanish 10 minutes later thanks to Ismael Saibari before goals from Jerdy Schouten, Teze, Ricardo Pepi and Isaac Babadi turned the game on its head.
With 12 points picked up from 21 matches so far, Het Andere Oranje sit bottom but one in the standings, level on points with this weekend's opponents ahead of the clash in Arnhem.
Having picked up the fewest points on the road this term, Sunday's visitors have it all to do here as they look to avoid another fruitless outing away from home.
Team News
Vitesse's Miliano Jonathans is still sidelined with a knee problem, while fellow Dutchmen Mathijs Tielemans and Davy Propper also miss out.
Twenty-one-year-old Fode Fofana has featured just three times the hosts this term due to a knee problem, and he is still a long way off making his return to action.
Nicolas Isimat-Mirin will serve a one-match suspension this weekend after receiving his marching orders in the defeat to Heracles last time out.
Midfielder Joey Antonioli remains unavailable for selection here having not made an appearance for Volendam since October due to a knee problem.
Vitesse possible starting lineup:
Room; Pinto, Hendriks, Oroz, Arcus; Meulensteen, Aaronson; Boutrah, Kozlowski, Moussa; Meerdink
FC Volendam possible starting lineup:
Backhaus; Buur, Benamar, Mirani, Flint, Cox; Maulun, De Haan, Johnson; Booth, Ould-Chikh
We say: Vitesse 1-1 FC Volendam
Vitesse and Volendam have both been defensively porous for large spells of the season, and it is hard to see either of them coming away with a clean sheet. That said, we can see the teams cancelling each other out with honours even come the end of the 90 minutes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Adepoju Marvellous
