Telstar vs FC Twente – News and Probable Lineups

On Sunday, Telstar will welcome FC Twente, aiming for a victory that could potentially lift them out of the relegation zone in the Eredivisie standings.

On the other hand, Twente finds itself in sixth position in the Dutch league, sitting five points behind the top four, despite an impressive series of matches without defeat.

Match overview

Considering that Twente has not tasted defeat in the Eredivisie since late October, there is some disappointment among their supporters regarding their current league position.

Recent draws against Excelsior and NAC Breda, currently in 18th and 12th place respectively, have put Twente’s aspirations for European qualification at risk.

A defeat of 2-1 to AZ Alkmaar in the KNVB-Beker last week raised concerns about John van den Brom’s team becoming increasingly vulnerable.

Nevertheless, Twente rebounded with a comprehensive 5-0 victory over Heerenveen in their last match, with five players contributing to the goals.

This marked only their fifth win at home this season in 11 league fixtures. While Twente has suffered only two losses on the road, six of their 11 away games have ended in draws.

Conversely, Telstar remains hopeful about maintaining their top-flight status, despite currently being four points behind 15th place with 12 games left to play.

The playoff winners of the Eerste Divisie last season have recorded just three losses from 11 games across all competitions, with two defeats at the hands of Ajax and AZ.

In an unusual twist, they have faced Go Ahead Eagles back-to-back, first eliminating the 2024-25 champions from the KNVB Beker with a 2-1 win.

Three days later, Telstar managed to secure a morale-boosting 1-1 draw against the same opponents.

That said, Anthony Correia will be aware that their home form at the Buko Stadion must improve, having only gathered seven points from 11 league matches to date.

Team News

Telstar could bring Sem van Duijn, Jelani Seedorf, and Gerald Alders back into consideration after their recent substitutions helped the team earn a point against Go Ahead Eagles.

However, with Correia seemingly having all key players available, he may choose to maintain his current starting lineup.

For Twente, Van den Brom might also opt for an unchanged starting XI, as he was able to rest crucial players during the latter stages against Heerenveen.

Although Arno Verschueren made an immediate impact as a substitute with an assist, he is likely to remain on the bench.

With Ricky van Wolfswinkel out due to injury, Sam Lammers will spearhead the attack after scoring his third goal of the season last time out.

Telstar probable starting XI:

Traveler; Nwankwo, Offerhaus, Bakker; Noslin, Rossen, Hatenboer, Hardeveld; Hetli, Camp, Thorisson

FC Twente probable starting XI:

Unnerstall; Van Rooij, Lemkin, Propper, Rots; Zerrouki, Belt; Rock, Hlynsson, Orjasaeter; Lammers

With Telstar managing to avoid losses in back-to-back matches against Go Ahead Eagles, confidence is likely to have increased that they can create an upset in this fixture. Nonetheless, we can only favor the visitors to prevail, although not in the same dominant manner as their recent five-goal triumph against Heerenveen.