Sittard vs FC Twente – News and Probable Lineups

Fortuna Sittard, without a win against FC Twente in the Eredivisie since 2022, host the Tukkers at the Fortuna Sittard Stadium for Saturday’s 28th fixture.

After winning three of their last four league games, Fortuna is vying for a spot in the European playoffs but must outperform one of the league’s current high-flyers to bolster their standings.

Match overview

Following a surprising 4-1 defeat to relegation-battling Telstar in the preceding gameweek, Sittard sought a response against FC Volendam to enhance their chances of finishing within the top eight of the league.

Danny Buijs’s side managed to achieve just that with a 2-1 win over the 14th-placed team, maintaining their position at 11th in the standings, now three points behind FC Utrecht ahead of the 28th round.

Even though Utrecht is three places ahead in eighth, Fortuna has the potential to enter European playoff contention if they can sustain their recent form and if other results favor them in the upcoming weeks.

This weekend presents another opportunity, although it hinges on Fortuna finally winning against their Saturday opponents for the first time in four years.

The last time Fortuna triumphed over Twente was a 2-1 victory in May 2022, which marked three wins in a row against the Tukkers. However, since then, the Reds have recorded six victories in the seven matches that followed, with a single draw occurring last April.

Twente’s dominance is apparent, having outscored Fortuna with an aggregate of 16-4, and the Pride of the East has managed to keep four clean sheets in the last seven encounters over the past four years.

Supporters heading to the municipality of Sittard-Geleen might expect another favorable outcome for Twente, considering their current form.

Despite John van den Brom’s team losing last time out to another well-performing team in FC Utrecht, they currently sit third in the form table over the past five matches, accruing 10 points from a possible 15.

Only Heerenveen (12) and Utrecht (11) have collected more points than Twente in this period, although the visiting team will be cautious of Fortuna, who have only managed one point fewer during the same stretch.

Nevertheless, Twente’s tally of nine goals scored and five conceded, compared to Fortuna’s nine scored and 12 conceded, underscore the visitors’ superiority in both offensive and defensive aspects of play.

Twente is fully aware that a strong performance in the coming weeks could enable them to surpass Ajax and potentially vie for the third spot currently held by NEC.

With Twente needing to close a five-point gap to Nijmegen, they have ample reason to believe that securing a place in the top three is within their reach.

Team News

Fortuna is likely to be without their top goal scorer Kaj Sierhuis and second-leading scorer Mohamed Ihattaren, who have together netted 16 goals, leaving five-goal Paul Gladon as the primary attacking option.

They will also be missing Justin Lonwijk, Alen Halilovic, Ramazan Bayram, Mattijs Branderhorst, and Daley Sinkgraven, all of whom are currently sidelined.

On the other hand, Twente has had a balanced spread of goals, with Ricky van Wolfswinkel (eight), Daan Rots and Kristian Hlynsson (both seven) actively contributing, while five-goal Sam Lammers continues his strong form this season.

While Van Wolfswinkel has scored five of his eight goals away from home, Rots and Hlynsson have each contributed three goals on the road, which suggests Twente has numerous players capable of making a difference.

Thomas van den Belt will be unavailable due to a one-match suspension, and Mees Hilgers (knee) will also miss Saturday’s match.

Fortuna Sittard probable starting XI:

Koopmans; Pinto, Hübner, Márquez, Dahlhaus; Michut, Brittijn; Limnios, Duijvestijn, Peterson; Gladon

FC Twente probable starting XI:

Unnerstall; Van Rooij, Lemkin, Nijstad, Rots M.; Hlynsson, Zerrouki, Weidmann; Rock D., Lammers, Orjasaeter

Twente seems to possess enough quality on both sides of the pitch to clinch a closely contested match, particularly given Fortuna’s injury issues in their attacking line.

The visitors’ superior form and attacking prowess may turn out to be critical in what is expected to be a tight contest, resulting in a slender victory for the Reds.