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

The home side will be looking to extending their three-match unbeaten run, while the visitors go in search of a third consecutive win across all competitions.

Match preview

Utrecht saw off the threat of AZ Alkmaar to reach the quarter-final of the KNVB Beker following a 2-1 victory at the AFAS Stadion on Tuesday.

Michael Silberbauer's men opened the scoring through Nick Viergever but they were pegged back by Jesper Karlsson's late equaliser after which Naoki Maeda grabbed the winner three minutes into extra time.

Prior to that, the Domstedelingen narrowly defeated Heerenveen 1-0 at the Stadion Galgenwaard and currently sit seventh in the Eredivisie table, six points clear of the chasing pack in the race for the final European place.

Coming up next is the challenge of an opposing outfit with little to choose between the teams as the most recent five meetings have yielded two wins apiece and one draw.

Having netted 12 times in their last five away matches, Sunday's visitors will be aiming to put on another attacking masterclass on enemy territory.

Vitesse had to settle for a share of the spoils in Saturday's encounter against FC Emmen at De Oude Meerdijk which ended in a 2-2 stalemate.

Phillip Cocu's men raced to a two-goal lead courtesy of strikes from Million Manhoef and Carlens Arcus before Jasin-Amin Assehnoun's effort and a late Dominik Oroz own goal restored parity.

Consequently, Geel en Zwart have now moved up to 13th position in the league standings, opening up a four-point gap over the bottom three.

Currently on a run of one victory in 12 home outings leading up to Sunday's contest, the hosts will need to get their act together in front of their fans to steer clear of relegation danger.

Vitesse Eredivisie form:

D

D

L

D

W

D

FC Utrecht Eredivisie form:

D

D

L

W

D

W

FC Utrecht form (all competitions):

D

L

W

D

W

W

Team News

Davy Propper was handed his first start since returning from an injury layoff and the 31-year-old is expected to retain his place in the lineup.

Meanwhile, Sondre Tronstad remains out of contention for the home side as he continues his spells on the sidelines due to a muscle problem.

Utrecht's Bas Dost is set to miss a fifth straight game on the bounce due to a foot injury but the forward is not far off making a return to action.

Tommy St. Jago, Ramon Hendriks, Bart Ramselaar and Django Warmerdam are all battling with knee problems, ruling the Dutch quartet out of Sunday's affair.

Vitesse possible starting lineup:

Scherpen; Flamingo, Propper, Wittek, Arcus; Oroz, Manhoef; Bero, Bialek, Meulensteen; Kozlowski

FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:

Barkas; Klaiber, Viergever, Toornstra, Van der Hoorn; Booth, Sagnan; Bozdogan, Douvikas, Van de Streek; Boussaid

We say: Vitesse 1-1 FC Utrecht

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