VVV-Venlo welcome Vitesse to the Stadion De Koel on Wednesday evening as both sides look to maintain their good run of recent form.
They may be at opposite ends of the Eredivisie table, but the two teams are unbeaten in their last five outings and will be confident of getting a positive result in midweek.
Match preview
The hosts made history earlier in the season when they were annihilated 13-0 by reigning champions Ajax, which set a new record for the largest win in the history of the Dutch top flight.
Hans de Koning's side struggled in the immediate weeks after that humiliating result, but they have come into some good form of late, which has seen them rise up the table.
VVV-Venlo have picked up 10 points from a possible 12, largely thanks to the goalscoring prowess of summer-signing Georgios Giakoumakis.
The Greek forward made his international debut last year after impressing throughout his first season in the Netherlands.
Eighteen goals in his first 19 games for his new club is a seriously impressive return, and his 16 Eredivisie strikes make him the division's top scorer. If De Koning's side are to take anything from Wednesday's encounter, then the 26-year-old will have a big part to play.
Vitesse are currently sitting in second place, just three points behind Ajax, after winning their last five games in all competitions.
While Thomas Letsch's men may have scored almost half the number of goals as the league leaders, his team's defensive record is second to none.
The GelreDome Stadium outfit have conceded just 13 top-flight goals in 2020-21, and they will be hoping that their solid foundations can hold firm against the threat of Giakoumakis.
A 1-0 victory over Groningen last time out means Vitesse have leaked just one effort in 360 minutes of Eredivisie action, and Wednesday's game could come down to whether the title challengers are capable of recording another clean sheet or not.
VVV-Venlo Eredivisie form: LLWWDW
VVV-Venlo form (all competitions): LWWDWW
Vitesse Eredivisie form: WLWWWW
Vitesse form (all competitions): LWWWWW
Team News
Evert Linthorst made his return from injury in the 1-0 win over FC Twente at the weekend as a substitute and could be pushing for a recall from the off in midweek.
The shock result, though, is likely to result in De Koning keeping faith with the same starting lineup that secured the three points on Sunday, meaning Joshua John and Vito van Crooij are set to form a front three on either side of Giakoumakis.
Letsch almost has the luxury of a fully-fit squad to choose from for this one, with Sondre Tronstad the only absentee.
That means 19-year-old Chelsea loanee Armando Broja is likely to partner main man Lois Openda in attack once again.
VVV-Venlo possible starting lineup:
Kirschbaum; Guwara, Da Graca, Gelmi, Dekker; Machach, Janssen, Post; John, Giakoumakis, Van Crooij
Vitesse possible starting lineup:
Pasveer; Wittek, Rasmussen, Bazoer, Doekhi, Dasa; Bero, Tannane, Bruns; Openda, Broja
We say: VVV-Venlo 1-2 Vitesse
This fixture should be a fascinating encounter between two teams in fantastic form. VVV-Venlo are certainly capable of upsetting the odds and securing another surprise victory, but we think this will be a step too far for them, and Vitesse will come away with all three points.
Top betting 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 Vitesse win with a probability of 65.93%. A draw had a probability of 19.2% and a win for VVV-Venlo had a probability of 14.88%.
The most likely scoreline for a Vitesse win was 0-2 with a probability of 10.53%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.85%) and 0-1 (9.62%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9%), while for a VVV-Venlo win it was 2-1 (4.21%). The actual scoreline of 4-1 was predicted with a 0.3% likelihood.
