Sparta Rotterdam will be looking to avoid a sixth straight league defeat when they welcome NAC Breda to the Sparta Stadion Het Kasteel on Saturday in round 15 of the 2024-25 Eredivisie season.
Meanwhile, the away side make the trip this weekend in search of consecutive victories for the first time since October having recently returned to winning ways.
Match preview
For the third game running, Sparta Rotterdam were on the receiving end of a narrow one-goal defeat as they fell to a 1-0 loss against PEC Zwolle when the teams went head-to-head at the MAC³PARK Stadion on Saturday.
Despite being in the ascendancy for large spells of the first half, Maurice Steijn's men were behind fewer than 15 minutes into the second period thanks to Jamiro Monteiro's opener, which proved to be the all-important moment of a tight contest.
A fifth defeat on the bounce has left De Kasteelheren currently in the relegation playoff place of the Eredivisie table as they sit 16th in the standings, two points adrift of safety heading into this weekend's encounter.
Sparta have threatened to return to winning ways in recent matches, and the challenge of Breda this weekend could see them do just that given their record in this fixture, which reads four wins and a draw from the last six meetings.
However, Saturday's hosts are the only team in the division still without a league win on home turf to their name this term, and they will need to get going in front of their fans to stand a good chance of pulling away from the drop zone.
Having thrown away a two-goal lead against Willem II six days earlier, Breda needed just one goal to see off Almere City in Saturday's encounter at the Rat Verlegh Stadion in matchday 14.
Eighteen-year-old Leo Sauer found the back of the net for the second straight game since returning from international duty to hand Carl Hoefkens's men all three points in a drab affair.
Picking up a first win in five matches across all competitions, Parel van het Zuiden have moved back up into the Conference League playoff places and currently sit seventh with 19 points from 14 matches.
Top-flight survival still remains the major objective for NAC Breda on their return to the Eredivisie, but there is a growing sense of optimism that a significant push for European football can be achieved this term.
Saturday's visitors will need to improve their offensive output if they are to remain in the upper echelons of the table, as their tally of 15 goals scored currently ranks joint bottom of all teams in the top 12.
Team News
Djevencio van der Kust made his return to action from a suspension off the bench against Zwolle, but the defender could be given the nod to feature right from the off here.
On-loan winger Kayky is set to miss a third straight game for the home side due to a muscle injury he suffered in the first half of last month's 1-0 defeat to Groningen.
Jonathan de Guzman featured in all but two of Sparta's league matches during the last campaign but has made just one appearance so far this time around as he remains sidelined.
Nineteen-year-old Cherrion Valerius is Breda's only guaranteed absentee for this one with a knee problem that has seen him miss each of the last seven matches.
Slovakian forward Leo Sauer continues to impress in his debut campaign for the away side and is expected to feature up front in this weekend's contest.
Sparta Rotterdam possible starting lineup:
Olij; Van Aanholt, Eerdhuijzen, Young, Quintero; Kitolano, Baas; Neghli, Verschueren, Nassoh; Lauritsen
NAC Breda possible starting lineup:
Bielica; Lucassen, Greiml, Van den Bergh, Kemper; Balard, Garbett, Leemans; Fernandes, Omarsson, Sauer
We say: Sparta Rotterdam 1-0 NAC Breda
Sparta have been a tad unlucky in recent matches and will have every reason to believe they can come out on top here.
We are expecting a cagey affair with limited chances at both ends and a win for the home side come the end of the 90 minutes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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