Having both all but moved out of reach of the relegation zone in the Eredivisie table, Cambuur and RKC Waalwijk will square off on Friday.

With an eight-point lead over the bottom three with three games remaining, the hosts just need to avoid a defeat in one of their last two games to confirm their survival, while the visitors sit five points clear of the relegation playoff place and need a maximum of five points if the sides in the relegation zone do not slip up.

Match preview

Following their promotion from the Dutch second tier last season, Cambuur enjoyed an eye-catching start to the Eredivisie campaign, winning nine of their opening 16 league games to sit well inside the top half on 27 points.

However, they have seen their form take a sharp dip since mid-December, having now added just one more notch to their wins column in 15 attempts while suffering 10 defeats.

That lone victory came over Fortuna Sittard in late February, but they have since gained one point from seven matches, with the triumph firstly followed by six straight defeats.

Henk De Jong's side finally managed to arrest their losing run last time out, although they will have left disheartened as Heerenveen snatched a 96th-minute equaliser after Mitchel Paulissen looked to have sealed all three points with an injury-time goal to make it 3-2.

While the Yellow-Blues will be disappointed with their form since the turn of the year, the strong first half to the campaign has given them a major head start over the bottom three, and, with an eight-point lead over the relegation playoff place with three games to go, a point or a mistake from the chasing teams would suffice to preserve their top-flight status.

Their visitors, meanwhile, have found themselves in and around the bottom three throughout the entirety of the campaign, having struggled to establish any real consistency.

After narrow defeats to FC Twente and league leaders Ajax in March, Joseph Oosting's side hugely boosted their survival hopes with draws against Heerenveen and FC Utrecht either side of an impressive 2-1 win away at sixth-placed Vitesse, before they were again condemned to consecutive losses.

They were able to remove any realistic doubt last time out, though, returning to winning ways with a 3-1 defeat of eighth-placed Groningen, thanks to a Finn Stokkers brace and Richard van der Venne's goal, all inside the first half.

That victory stretched RKC Waalwijk's lead over the relegation zone from two points to five, and, with just three games left to play, a positive result on Friday would see them take another major step towards confirming their survival.

Team News

Cambuur will likely remain without Tom Boere and Maxim Gullit, as the duo continue to nurse injury issues.

However, they will welcome back defender Sekou Sylla from a suspension, and he will battle to displace David Sambissa, who filled in at left-back in his absence last time out.

Roberts Uldrikis will continue to lead the line, having hit his sixth league goal of the season in the draw with Heerenveen.

RKC Waalwijk, meanwhile, will likely have no selection concerns to deal with, and Oosting may deploy an unchanged starting XI after last week's win.

After his brace last time out, Finn Stokkers will keep a place in attack alongside Michiel Kramer, who has netted 10 goals in 29 Eredivisie appearances since joining from ADO Den Haag in the summer.

They have tended to line up in a 3-4-1-2 system recently, with Richard van der Venne supporting the front two and Vurnon Anita anchoring the midfield alongside Yassin Oukili.

Cambuur possible starting lineup:
Stevens; Schmidt, Schouten, Mac-Intosh, Sylla; Hoedemakers, Jacobs, Maulun; Joosten, Uldrikis, Kallon

RKC Waalwijk possible starting lineup:
Vaessen; Adewoye, Meulensteen, Touba; Bakari, Oukili, Anita, Buttner; Van Der Venne; Kramer, Stokkers

We say: Cambuur 1-2 RKC Waalwijk

RKC Waalwijk will be full of confidence after their win over Groningen to move clear of the drop zone, and we back them to make it two wins in a row against a Cambuur side who have not fared well in recent months and are slightly too comfortable to be fighting for survival.

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