Looking to end a barren run of three games without a victory, Groningen travel to Tilburg for their clash against Willem II on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the home side are looking to return to winning ways after dropping points for the first time since the opening weekend last time out.
Match preview
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Willem II showed great resolve to force a share of the spoils in their match versus newcomers NEC Nijmegen at the Stadion de Goffert on Sunday.
Despite playing the majority of the contest a man down, Fred Grim's men repelled everything that was thrown at them to secure a hard-fought point.
The Tricolores have responded superbly to an opening-day defeat, amassing seven of the subsequent nine points to sit fifth on the log going into this weekend's tie.
Saturday's hosts, who are also yet to concede in any of their last three matches since shipping four against Feyenoord, now look set for a more productive campaign after narrowly escaping relegation last time out.
Groningen were made to wait for their first home victory of the 2021-22 campaign following a 1-1 stalemate versus Heerenveen on Sunday.
Danny Buijs's men trailed to Tibor Halilovic's 19th-minute strike at half time before drawing level through Cyril Ngonge midway through the second period.
The Pride of the North are in 10th place at the moment following an inconsistent start to the new season, where they have picked up five points from the opening four games.
Going up against an opposing side who the last 18 meetings with have yielded five wins apiece and eight draws, Saturday's visitors are faced with another stern test in their bid to turn a corner.
However, after coming out on top in both of last season's league meetings, Groningen will be confident of recording another positive result once again.
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Team News
Joel Brondeel was shown a straight red card in Willem II's last outing versus NEC, and he will serve the first of a three-game suspension in this one.
Connor van den Berg made six saves after coming on for Brondeel in the aforementioned match and is expected to keep his place between the sticks.
Groningen's Radinio Balker is yet to return from a cruciate ligament injury and still awaits his debut since his summer move from NEC Nijmegen.
The away side will also be without the services of Dutch defender Mike te Wierik, who was sent off for two bookable offences last time out.
Willem II possible starting lineup:
Van den Berg; Owusu, Jenssen, Heerkens, Kohn; Saglam, Saddiki, Llonch; Kohlert, Okyere Wriedt, Nunnely
Groningen possible starting lineup:
Leeuwenburgh; Postema, Kasanwirjo, Gudmundsson, El Hankouri, Dammers; Matusiwa, Ngonge, Suslov; Strand Larsen, De Leeuw
We say: Willem II 1-1 Groningen
The home side have the upper hand coming into the game due to their recent run of results and will fancy themselves to secure all three points in this one. However, we are tipping Groningen to come away with a point in what should be an enthralling affair.
Top tip
Adepoju Marvellous
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 Willem II win with a probability of 42.82%. A win for Groningen had a probability of 31.59% and a draw had a probability of 25.6%.
The most likely scoreline for a Willem II win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.9%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.94%) and 2-0 (7.28%). The likeliest Groningen win was 0-1 (8.25%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.14%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with an 8.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Willem II would win this match.
