The final match in gameweek 25 of the Eredivisie pits Feyenoord against Heracles at De Kuip on Sunday.
Arne Slot's side are 10 points adrift of table-topping PSV, thus seeing their title slip away, while the visitors look to avoid the bottom three places in the concluding 10 rounds.
Match preview
Feyenoord missed an opportunity to possibly put some pressure on PSV atop the standings when they could only draw 2-2 in Eindhoven despite leading 2-1 heading into the game's final 20 minutes.
The point meant Slot's side could not cut the league leaders' lead to seven points, leaving them with a 10-point deficit to surmount with just 10 gameweeks remaining.
That could be 13 by the time De club aan de Maas take to the pitch on Sunday, with Peter Bosz's unbeaten PSV travelling to Go Ahead Eagles on Friday, meaning Feyenoord must win this weekend to avoid effectively kissing their title defence goodbye.
The home side have reason to be confident about avoiding defeat this weekend, having not lost an Eredivisie match to Heracles since February 2015, with their last home loss coming in October 2013.
Be that as it may, Feyenoord have not had recent meetings at De Kuip go their way, with Heracles picking up a point in two of their last three visits to Rotterdam, losing 2-1 on their latest trip in December 2021.
If the home side do not bow to the pressure of chasing PSV, they are expected to defeat the away side, whose form heading into Sunday's clash leaves much to be desired.
The Almelo-based club avoided a third consecutive loss in the Eredivisie with last weekend's 2-2 draw with Almere City, a game that witnessed HAFC fighting back from 2-0 down to secure the point against a side two places higher in the standings.
Erwin van de Looi's men have been fortunate to stay outside the bottom three positions this term, as the four clubs beneath the 14th-placed side in the standings have secured just two victories in 20 matches altogether.
Heracles have one win in their last five, and it is telling that their four points from an available 15 is a joint-high for Eredivisie's bottom five teams, highlighting the wretched forms of the clubs battling for survival.
HAFC sit five points clear of RKC Waalwijk occupying the relegation playoff 16th place and seven clear of 17th-placed Vitesse, so they are assured of avoiding the bottom three positions at the end of gameweek 25 regardless of Sunday's outcome in Rotterdam.
Team News
Slot faces questions about several members of his Feyenoord side as Gernot Trauner (hamstring) and Thomas van den Belt (hip) are doubtful, while Alireza Jahanbakhsh (hip) and Justin Bijlow (shin) are not expected to take part for Feyenoord on Sunday.
Santiago Gimenez has netted 20 times in the Eredivisie, but the forward has not scored a home goal since mid-February and has netted once in six league games, pointing to a dip in output in recent weeks.
Nikolai Laursen (knee) and Diego van Oorschot are doubtful for Heracles are, with the latter nearing a return after recovering from his leg break.
However, the away side are without Sava Cestic, whose ankle break rules him out for a few months.
Feyenoord possible starting lineup:
Wellenreuther; Geertruida, Beelan, Hancko, Lopez; Wieffer, Zerrouki; Minteh, Timber, Paixao; Gimenez
Heracles possible starting lineup:
Brouwer; Willems, Hoogma, Soonenberg; Wieckhoff, Hrustic, Keersmaecker, Oppegard; Bruijn, Hornkamp, Engels
We say: Feyenoord 3-1 Heracles
The home side should record their ninth home win of the season and a third in succession as they hope to maintain enough distance from PSV to keep their outside chances of retaining their title.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
body check tags ::
Previews by email
