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

Arne Slot's side are three points ahead of their nearest title challengers and defending champions Ajax, while the Pride of the North are undergoing a battle of their own at the opposite end of the standings.

Match preview

A permanent fixture in the Eredivisie for over two decades, Groningen are gingerly walking the footballing tightrope above the second tier of Dutch football after only registering three victories in the current campaign.

Dennis van der Ree's interim troops only won four home games throughout the whole of 2021-22, and they have not fared much better so far this term either, picking up just two wins in front of their own fans to date.

Last weekend's away trip to an Excelsior side sitting just one point above them in the table provided an opportunity for a much-needed confidence boost, but things did not go to plan in their first competitive match since mid-November.

Redouan El Yaakoubi scored the only goal of the game after 69 minutes at the Stadion Woudestein as the Pride of the North were left still waiting for their first three-point haul since their shock victory over PSV Eindhoven on October 23.

There was even worse to come in the KNVB-Beker four days later as Groningen saw their winless run extended to five games in humiliating fashion in front of their own fans, with only two late goals making their 3-2 defeat to amateur side Spakenburg seem slightly more respectable.

Currently only one point above the relegation playoff position, the Euroborg's upper hierarchy will hope their decision to appoint Ree as interim head coach at the beginning of the month on a short-term contract until the end of the season will pay off in the coming months.

After finishing third last season, Feyenoord culminated the first half of the campaign in a determined mood to lift their first top-flight title since 2016-17.

Feyenoord have picked up 18 points from the last 24 on offer during an eight-game unbeaten run which dates back to mid-September, and they will make the expedition to the North of Holland with the joint-second best away record in the division.

Still active on home and European shores, Arne Slot's side recommenced their domestic campaign with a last-gasp 1-1 draw with Utrecht on January 8, when Alireza Jahanbakhsh appeared off the substitutes' bench to salvage a share of the spoils in the 90th minute, preventing his team from falling to only a second league defeat of the season.

Feyenoord then secured their place in the third round of the Dutch Cup with a 3-1 victory over PEC Zwolle on Thursday, a game which saw them register 21 shots in the first half alone.

Undefeated in their last five head-to-head matches, the Rotterdam-based outfit will be optimistic about condemning Groningen to a fourth-successive league defeat on Sunday afternoon.

Groningen Eredivisie form:

L

W

D

L

L

L

Feyenoord Eredivisie form:

W

D

W

W

W

D

Feyenoord form (all competitions):

W

W

W

L

W

D

Team News

Having scored the third-highest number of goals in the league this season, top scorer Danilo will again line the lead for Feyenoord on Sunday.

Sebastian Szymanski and Orkun Kokcu should also be named in Arne Slot's starting 11, having both scored braces against Excelsior in their final match before the start of Qatar's end-of-year winter World Cup spectacle.

Expected to join the aforementioned Szymanski and Kokcu in The Club on Meuse's five-man midfield will be Javairo Dilrosun, Mats Wieffer and Igor Paixao.

Interim Groningen boss Van der Ree named the club's youngest-ever Eredivisie starting XI last weekend against Excelsior at an average of just 21 years and 170 days old, and he could name the same lineup for this match.

If Ree does decide to do that, United States international Ricardo Pepi will again start as the Pride of North's lone striker, with Tomas Suslov, Luciano Valente and Thom van Bergen providing additional support in the final third.

Groningen possible starting lineup:

Verrips; Van Gelderen, Balker, Blokzijl, Maatta; Valente, Oratmangoen, Kasanwirjo, Van Bergen, Suslov; Pepi

Feyenoord possible starting lineup:

Bijlow; Pedersen, Hancko, Rasmussen, Lopez; Szymanski, Wieffer, Dilrosun, Kokcu, Paixao; Danilo

We say: Groningen 0-3 Feyenoord

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