Preview: FC Utrecht vs. Almere City - prediction, team news, lineups

As things stand, the hosts are 16th in the table, two points above the visitors, who are bottom of the Eredivisie.

Match preview

It has been a difficult start to the season for Utrecht, having lost five of their opening six Eredivisie games, and they have been particularly unimpressive in a defensive sense.

The Cupfighters have shipped 14 goals already this season, failing to pick up a clean sheet, and they were on the receiving end of a heavy 5-1 defeat against Feyenoord at the beginning of September.

Losing against last season's title winners is unlikely to have dampened spirits too much, but Ron Jans will be very disappointed with his side's performance in their last match, losing 3-0 away at NEC.

The only positive for FC Utrecht is the fact they have managed to get their first win on the board, picking up a 3-1 victory away at Heracles earlier this month, and they will be hoping to get off the mark at home this weekend.

The Domstedelingen may fancy their chances on Saturday, against an Almere City side that have struggled to get to grips with the Eredivisie after being promoted via the playoffs last season.

The Black Sheep have collected just one point from their opening six games, meaning they are bottom of the league table, two points from this safety at this early juncture in the season.

It was always going to be a difficult ask for Alex Pastoor's side to avoid relegation, having been promoted to the Eredivisie for the first time in their history, and they have looked poor in a number of their first six matches.

Almere City were on the receiving end of a 4-1 defeat against FC Twente on the opening day of the season, while they also struggled considerably in their trip to De Kuip, losing 6-1 against Feyenoord.

The only respite for the Black Sheep has been their 0-0 draw against SBV Excelsior in their last away match, but a 4-0 defeat at home against PSV last weekend cannot have done much good for their confidence heading into their trip to Stadion Galgenwaard on Saturday.

FC Utrecht Eredivisie form:

L

L

L

L

W

L

Almere City Eredivisie form:

L

L

L

L

D

L

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Team News

Manchester United loanee Zidane Iqbal made his debut in the victory against Heracles, but he will not be involved this weekend, having been ruled out of the recent trip to NEC due to injury.

Anthony Descotte and Jens Toornstra were unable to feature against NEC due to illness, meaning the duo remain doubts for this weekend's game.

Almere City have no fresh injury concerns to deal with, but Faiz Mattoir remains absent due to a knee injury, which has caused him to miss the start of the Eredivisie season.

After the heavy defeat against PSV last weekend, Pastoor may implement some changes, and given that striker Rajiv van La Parra is without a goal in his first six games, Yoann Cathline could be handed an opportunity in the starting lineup.

FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:

Branderhorst; Ter Avest, Flamingo, Van Der Maarel, El Karouani; Jensen, Bozdogan, Fraulo; Ter Haar Romeny, Boussaid, Seuntjens

Almere City possible starting lineup:

Bakker; Akujobi, Floranus, Van Bruggen, Barbet, Royo Castell; Van De Kamp, Koopmeiners, Resink; Robinet, Cathline

We say: FC Utrecht 1-0 Almere City

Both sides have struggled from an attacking point of view so far this season, scoring just four goals in their opening six games, so Saturday's match is unlikely to be a high-scoring affair.

However, given that they have home advantage, we expect a narrow victory for the hosts, which could move them out of the relegation zone.

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