Preview: Emmen vs. Heerenveen - prediction, team news, lineups

After four successive defeats, Emmen found themselves bottom of the Eredivisie table going into the international break.

Match preview

Despite suffering defeat at the hands of PSV Eindhoven on the opening day as expected, Emmen made a relatively promising start to the season.

A 3-2 win over Utrecht, which saw them come from behind twice, and a draw with Waalwijk was about as much as the newly-promoted outfit could hope for.

However, the drop off in results of late has been extremely alarming for manager Dick Lukkien, as they have plummeted down the table.

Losing to Feyenoord and AZ Alkmaar is nothing to be ashamed of, but they shipped seven goals without reply in those two games, and it appears that was damaging to morale.

Next up were Excelsior and Go Ahead Eagles, two sides expected to be fighting against relegation with them this season, and they lost both.

The loss to Excelsior was tough to take, as a 94th-minute goal decided that encounter, but they were toothless in going down 2-0 away to Go Ahead Eagles in their last match, the result which sent them bottom of the pile.

Heerenveen, meanwhile, are flying under the radar at the moment, currently occupying a Europa Conference League spot.

Most of the headlines would have focused around their 5-0 hammering at the hands of Ajax, but Kees van Wonderen's side have recorded some very impressive results so far, with the scoreline in Amsterdam rather undermining what a strong defensive outfit they are.

A 0-0 draw in Rotterdam against Feyenoord was followed up by a 4-0 thrashing of Vitesse away in Arnheim, in which Sydney van Hooijdonk netted a hat trick for De Superfriezen.

They rounded off the first section of the season with a 2-1 win on home turf over FC Twente last time out before the international break, as the Ajax defeat remains the only blip on their record so far.

Emmen Eredivisie form:

D

W

L

L

L

L

Heerenveen Eredivisie form:

D

W

W

D

L

W

Team News

Jeff Hardeveld joined the very unfortunate list of Emmen players now unavailable due to serious cruciate ligament injuries just before the international break, as ex-Millwall and Birmingham City midfielder Maikel Kieftenbeld and Mart Lieder are both out for the foreseeable future too.

Lucas Bernadou is doubtful after fracturing a bone in his face, but may be able to play through the injury if sufficient protection equipment can be provided.

Turkish attacker Metehan Guclu remains out after picking up an injury shortly after the start of the season, with the former Rennes player still waiting for his first start after making nine substitute appearances last term.

Another new signing, Ahmed El Messaoudi, will also have to wait a little longer for his full debut, as a knock will keep him out for another couple of weeks at least.

Central defender Miguel Araujo should be fine to start after flying back from the US late in the week, following his appearance in Peru's 4-1 win over El Salvador on Wednesday.

Despite the losing run Emmen have been on, Lukkien has continued to pick an unchanged side most weeks, and may keep faith with the same players again here.

For Heerenveen, Tibor Halilovic is available for selection again following the completion of his suspension after a red card against NEC Nijmegen at the start of the month.

Antoine Colassin could be the man to make way should Halilovic come into the starting XI.

Colassin started against Twente following Thom Haye's withdrawal due to illness, therefore Simon Olsson's place in the squad could also be under threat if Haye is able to make a return in the centre of midfield.

More good news for Van Wonderen is that Mats Kohlert may be close to a return at left-wing-back, giving the 53-year-old a decision to make on whether to stick with Rami Kaib.

Alex Timossi Andersson will miss out though after picking up an injury following his first start for the club, in the defeat away at Ajax.

Emmen possible starting lineup:

Oelschlagel; Veendorp, Araujo, Veldmate, Burnet; Vlak, Bernadou, Diemers, Mendes, Te Haar Romeny; Zivkovic

Heerenveen possible starting lineup:

Noppert; Van Ewijk, Van Beek, Bochniewicz, Van Aken, Kohlert; Tahiri, Halilovic, Haye; Van Hooijdonk, Sarr

We say: Emmen 0-2 Heerenveen

Emmen will hope the international break has given them a chance to reset and knuckle down on the training ground, but they are facing a Heerenveen side who have been tough to beat, and have kept clean sheets in four of their seven matches so far.

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