Groningen vs Sparta – News and Probable Lineups

On Sunday, FC Groningen will take on Sparta Rotterdam in the Eredivisie at Euroborg.

The home side currently occupies the eighth position in the Eredivisie standings with a total of 15 points, sitting six places and six points ahead of 14th-placed Sparta. Nevertheless, Dick Lukkien’s team comes into this fixture following a 2-0 defeat at home against second-tier FC Emmen in the KNVB Cup this past Thursday.

Match overview

De Trots van het Noorden has collected 15 points across 10 league encounters, achieving four wins, three draws, and three losses, with 24 goals scored and 21 conceded.

Brynjolfur Willumsson was on the scoresheet in the 11th and 34th minutes during the 2-2 draw with NEC on October 25, facing the team of his older brother Willum, and his eight league goals in 10 matches place him level at the top of the scoring charts alongside Soren Tengstedt of Go Ahead Eagles.

Thom van Bergen also has six league goals, meaning the duo accounts for 14 of Groningen’s 24 goals.

In that match, Groningen led 2-0 at halftime, but NEC made a comeback in the second half with goals from Clement Bischoff and Noe Lebreton, which left Lukkien dissatisfied with the outcome.

The league losses have been significant, including a 5-1 defeat at PSV Eindhoven on August 23, a 3-2 home loss against Fortuna Sittard on August 28, and a 5-2 home defeat to Ajax on October 18. Groningen has managed to keep just one clean sheet this season, which was a 3-0 victory against PEC Zwolle.

The elimination from the cup has added to the overall disappointment at the club, as Jack Cooper-Love netted two goals, one in the 10th minute and another shortly after the break, both coming from counter-attacks, leading the Euroborg crowd to express their discontent.

Lukkien mentioned feeling embarrassed by the performance but promised a strong response against Sparta. His squad has scored 11 goals across five home league games, yet they have also conceded 11 at Euroborg.

Head-to-head records do not inspire confidence either, as Sparta has triumphed in the last three league encounters, winning 1-0 on February 2, 2025, and 2-0 on both October 19, 2025, and January 31, 2026. Groningen has failed to find the back of the net in all three matches.

De Kasteelheren are currently 14th, accumulating nine points from 10 matches, having recorded two wins, three draws, and five losses while failing to keep a single clean sheet thus far.

Among the 24 goals conceded are heavy defeats, including a 4-1 loss at PSV on September 13 and a 4-0 defeat at home to Heerenveen just six days later. This issue has yet to be resolved by Rogier Meijer, who took over the role from Maurice Steijn during the summer.

A recent 3-3 draw against Go Ahead Eagles on October 10 and a 3-2 victory at home over bottom-placed Willem II a week later concluded a run of six league matches without a win.

Sparta subsequently lost at home 2-1 to Ajax on October 25, where Jens Toornstra leveled the score in the 43rd minute, only to be answered by Tolu’s goal in first-half stoppage time.

Toornstra, who is 37 years old, reached his 500th Eredivisie appearance in that match, but Meijer opted to rest him and Bruno Martins Indi for Wednesday’s cup game to manage their workloads. Fortuna Sittard triumphed in the penalty shootout at Het Kasteel.

Meijer has stated that Sparta must focus on winning matches they are anticipated to win, and their away record includes one victory, one draw, and two losses from four outings. They have scored eight goals while conceding 10.

Team News

Elvis van der Laan, Tyrique Mercera, and Ryan Metu are ruled out, while Travis Hernes is likely to miss the match after being substituted due to injury shortly after coming on against Emmen, pending further medical examinations to determine the severity of his injury.

Goalkeeper Etienne Vaessen is fit to play, and Marco Rente and Hans Hateboer came on at halftime against Emmen replacing Wouter Prins and Mark Csinger, and both are expected to return to the lineup that drew against NEC.

As for the visitors, Shunsuke Mito is anticipated to come back after missing several games due to injury, having netted both goals in Sparta’s 2-0 victory over Groningen at Het Kasteel on January 31.

Max de Ligt is unavailable due to injury, whereas Mitchell van Bergen is available again after participating as a substitute against Ajax. Martins Indi and Toornstra should also rejoin the starting lineup after being rested midweek.

Groningen probable starting XI:

Vaessen; Hateboer, Blokzijl, Csinger, Rente; De Jonge, Clement; Schreuders, Van Bergen, Van der Werff; Willumsson

Sparta Rotterdam probable starting XI:

Brewer; Martes, Young, Verschuren, Martins Indi, Kuipers; Van Cruijsen, Toornstra, Hatenboer, Babadi; Sunfield

Sparta has allowed goals in every one of their 10 league fixtures and is averaging 2.4 goals conceded per match, a statistic that could favor a Groningen side that has found the net 24 times, led by the 14 goals of Willumsson and Van Bergen.

Groningen also shows vulnerabilities in defense, having yielded nine goals in their last five league games, plus Mito’s return may offer Sparta a chance to score, making a goal for the visitors seem probable.

With the home side eager to bounce back from their defeat against Emmen and the squandered 2-0 lead at NEC, they should display more sharpness than they did on Thursday. This intensity is why we expect Groningen to secure a victory by two goals.