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

The hosts will have the chance to bounce back from defeat midweek at the first time of asking, while the visitors are without a victory in eight league games.

Match preview

Heerenveen have enjoyed a productive start to club matters following the World Cup break over November and December, maintaining an eighth-placed standing in the Eredivisie while also securing their passage into the third round of the KNVB-Beker.

However, Kees van Wonderen's side come into this clash fresh off the back of a 2-0 defeat to Fortuna Sittard on Wednesday night, courtesy of strikes from Umaro Embalo and Burak Yilmaz.

Prior to that defeat, De Superfriezen earned a 3-1 victory over Groningen last weekend, thanks to a brace from Amin Sarr and a late Pelle van Amersfoort strike, to keep the pressure on seventh-placed FC Utrecht in the race for the Europa Conference League playoff places - a fight that will make a welcome change from recent times where mid-table mediocrity has become the norm for Van Wonderen's side.

Heerenveen have earned 27 points from 18 games so far this season, with 14 of those points coming in front of their own fans, and De Superfriezan have won three of the last four meetings between these sides, so they will be confident of another victory on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Vitesse earned a solid 2-2 draw at home to title-chasing FC Twente on Wednesday night, in a bid to create some distance between themselves and the relegation places.

Goals from Gabriel Vidovic and Matus Bero were enough to secure Phillip Cocu's side a vital point, but their winless run in the Eredivisie now stretches to eight games, leaving them in 14th place, four points above the relegation zone.

After suffering a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Sparta Rotterdam, Vitesse ended November with back-to-back draws, meaning they entered the World Cup break on a three-match winless run.

Cocu would have been desperate for his players to hit the ground running after the break, but they have picked up where they left off before the World Cup, heightening relegation fears at the GelreDome.

Having only won two of their nine league games on the road this season, Vitesse are in real danger of dropping into the second tier for the first time in over three decades.

Heerenveen Eredivisie form:

W

W

D

L

W

L

Vitesse Eredivisie form:

D

D

D

D

L

D

Team News

The hosts were dealt a massive blow in the stalemate with RKC Waalwijk at the start of January after defender Sven van Beek suffered an Achilles tendon injury in the late stages of the match, an issue that is set to keep him sidelined until March.

In Van Beek's absence, Joost van Aken has been the man to partner Pawel Bochniewicz in the Heerenveen defence, while Sydney van Hooijdonk is the club's top scorer with six goals in the Eredivisie, so he looks set to lead the line this weekend.

As for the visitors, Kjell Scherpen will return from suspension after he was sent off in the defeat to PSV Eindhoven on January 21.

Nicolas Isimat-Mirin came off the bench to make his Vitesse debut last time out against FC Twente, so he could be given his first start this weekend.

Heerenveen possible starting lineup:

Noppert; Van Ewijk, Bochniewicz, Van Aken, Kohlert; Haye, Tahiri, Olsson, Van Amersfoort, Colassin; Van Hooijdonk

Vitesse possible starting lineup:

Scherpen; Arcus, Flamingo, Isimat-Mirin, Dijks; Tronstad, Meulensteen; Manhoef, Bero, Wittek; Bialek

We say: Heerenveen 2-0 Vitesse

Heerenveen have enjoyed recent success against Vitesse, and with the visitors struggling for form, we can see the hosts claiming all three points here.

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