Sparta Rotterdam will be looking to bounce back from successive defeats when they welcome already-relegated Cambuur to Sparta-Stadion Het Kasteel on Sunday afternoon in the Eredivisie.

The hosts have struggled since securing their top-seven spot in the standings, while Cambuur have found the entirety of their campaign in the Dutch top flight extremely challenging.

Match preview

Sparta Rotterdam's winless run extended to three matches last weekend as they lost 2-1 at relegation-threatened FC Volendam - their first defeat against Het Nieuwe Oranje since 2016.

Koki Saito put Rotterdam into a fifth-minute lead at Kras Stadion, but a pair of strikes from Xavier Mbuyamba either side of the half-time whistle secured the hosts all three points.

Maurice Steijn's men remain sixth in the Eredivisie standings despite some unfavourable results over the past fortnight, with only seventh-placed FC Utrecht having the ability to catch up with Rotterdam before the regular season's end.

Tobias Lauritsen and Vito van Crooij have proved to be quite the duo in attack for Sparta this term, with both attackers scoring 11 times for the club in the league.

Cambuur supporters will be envious of the offensive talent Sparta possess - the fact that they have only managed to score 21 times in 32 matches this season goes a long way in explaining why they are already relegated.

Eerste Divisie will be seeing the Yellow-Blues for the first time since their second-tier title-winning campaign of 2020-21 - one in which they finished 15 points ahead of any other side.

Sjors Ultee's men extended their unwanted run of defeats to eight matches last time out with a 2-0 loss at Vitesse, with a second-half brace from Bartosz Bialek securing the maximum for the hosts at GelreDome.

Cambuur have now failed to score in their last five matches dating back to the beginning of April - it is safe to say fans will not be expecting a result in Rotterdam on Sunday.

Team News

Sparta Rotterdam will be without the services of Mike Eerdhuijzen this weekend, with the centre-back serving a one-match suspension for collecting his fifth booking of the season last time out.

Adil Auassar is likely to replace Eerdhuijzen in defence - the 36-year-old has not started a match since being sent off in the 3-0 loss against Utrecht in February.

Cambuur have quite a busy medical room ahead of their trip to Rotterdam, with defender Maxim Gullit doubtful due to a knee injury suffered earlier in the season.

First-choice goalkeeper Joao Virginia has been sidelined since April and is unlikely to feature before the end of the campaign, meaning 36-year-old Robbin Ruiter will continue in between the sticks.

Sparta Rotterdam possible starting lineup:
Olij; Sambo, Vriends, Auassar, Meijers; Verschueren, Kitlano, Namli; Van Crooij, Lauritsen, Saito

Cambuur possible starting lineup:
Ruiter; Van Wermeskerken, Tol, Smand, Bangura; Van Kaam, Hoedemakers, Breij, Foor, Balk; Uldrikis

We say: Sparta Rotterdam 3-0 Cambuur

Sparta have struggled in recent matches but have a massive opportunity to return to winning ways on Sunday against a Cambuur side who are enduring a terrible losing run.

Cambuur's season is effectively over, and we cannot see them causing a shock in Rotterdam on Sunday - or even scoring a goal for that matter.


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