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

Both sides are currently languishing in the drop zone heading into this weekend's relegation six-pointer, which promises to be a cracking affair.

Match preview

Groningen were beaten for the eighth time in nine matches across all competitions courtesy of a 6-0 thrashing against PSV Eindhoven at the Philips Stadion on Saturday.

Dennis van der Ree's men fell behind to Luuk de Jong's opener just shy of the half-hour mark after which second-half goals from Xavi Simons, Jarrad Branthwaite, Johan Bakayoko, Fabio Silva and Guus Til completed the rout.

As a result, Trots van het Noorden have now dropped down to 18th place in the Eredivisie table, four points adrift of safety just past the midway point of the current campaign.

Awaiting them next is the challenge of an opposing outfit with just one win in the last nine meetings between the teams, losing five of the other eight.

Currently on a run of just one victory in 11 home matches leading up to Saturday's contest, the hosts will need to get themselves together in front of their fans if they are to stand any chance of beating the drop.

Emmen suffered a home loss for the first time since September following a 1-0 defeat against Fortuna Sittard at De Oude Meerdijk on Saturday.

Oguzhan Ozyakup broke the deadlock 14 minutes from time, and that proved to be the all-important moment that put Dick Lukkien's men to the sword.

Having picked up just four of the last 15 points available, the Kannibals are 16th in the standings, albeit just one point behind FC Volendam in the race for survival.

Off the back of three straight defeats on the road by a combined score of 8-2, Saturday's visitors set out to turn their away fortunes around and get their season back on track.

Groningen Eredivisie form:

L

L

L

L

D

L

Emmen Eredivisie form:

D

L

W

L

D

L

Emmen form (all competitions):

L

W

L

D

L

L

Team News

Radinio Balker will be expected to retain his place in the Groningen starting XI after shaking off an injury scare to last the full course of the 90 minutes against PSV.

Mads Bech Sorensen missed the aforementioned game due to a broken hand, and the goalkeeper is not expected to take part in Saturday's clash either.

The home side are also set to be without the services of Luciano Valente and Paulos Abraham, who continue to nurse ankle and muscle injuries respectively.

Jeff Hardeveld, Mart Lieder and Maikel Kieftenbeld are currently down with long-term knee injuries and are unavailable to be selected by Emmen.

Rui-Jorge Mendes is set to miss a fifth consecutive game through a hamstring problem, but the 23-year-old is not far off a return to action.

Groningen possible starting lineup:

Verrips; Dankerlui, Balker, Blokzijl, Dybvik; Suslov, Pelupessy, Hove; Manu, Pepi, Irandust

Emmen possible starting lineup:

Van der Hart; Dirksen, Araujo, Te Wierik, Bouchouari; Bernadou, Veendorp, El Messaoudi; Diemers, Antonisse, Zivkovic

We say: Groningen 1-0 Emmen

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