Utrechtvs.Heracles

Match preview

Utrecht's start to the season has been nothing short of sensational, and Sunday's emphatic 4-1 demolition of Sparta Rotterdam at the Sparta Stadion Het Kasteel was arguably their most impressive performance so far.

Ron Jans's men went into the interval with a narrow advantage provided by Victor Jensen's opener before putting the seal on the result thanks to strikes by Miguel Rodriguez, Paxten Aaronson and Mike van der Hoorn in the final 10 minutes.

Prior to that, each of De Domstedelingen's last 10 league victories had come via a one-goal margin, but their goalfest against Sparta last time out suggests more convincing wins could be on the way.

Utrecht have recorded 25 points from their 10 matches so far to sit third in the Eredivisie table, level on points with Ajax and five points adrift of PSV Eindhoven, albeit with a game in hand on the current leaders.

While any talks of a title challenge remain premature, Utrecht will be eyeing a return to European football at the very least, having not featured on the continental scene since the 2011 Europa League.

In the meantime, they will be focused on securing a ninth win in 10 matches across all competitions, either side of a 2-0 defeat to Feyenoord, which remains Utrecht's only defeat this term.

With games against Ajax and PSV to come shortly after the upcoming international break, Friday's hosts will be keen to remain within touching distance of the early title frontrunners as the first third of the campaign comes to an end.

Fresh from picking up a first competitive win in over a month, Heracles wasted no time securing consecutive victories as they saw off the threat of newly promoted NAC Breda at the Asito Stadium on Saturday.

Brian De Keersmaecker broke the deadlock nine minutes from half time with a coolly dispatched penalty before doubling his tally just past the hour mark to wrap up the points for Erwin van de Looi's men.

Off the back of conceding a whopping 13 goals in their three league matches in October, the Heraclieden have now kept back-to-back clean sheets, highlighting a remarkable turnaround in defence.

Sitting just three points clear of relegation danger, Heracles will now be looking to pull further away from the drop zone with a win on Friday, but their record in this fixture certainly does not make for good reading.

The away side have been beaten in four of their last five clashes against the hosts, who completed a league double last time out after coming out on top in both of last season's league meetings by a combined score of 4-1.

FC Utrecht Eredivisie form:

W

W

W

W

L

W

Heracles Eredivisie form:

W

W

L

L

L

W

Team News

Utrecht goalkeeper Kevin Gadellaa is still unavailable for selection due to a long-term knee problem he picked up against Roda earlier this year.

Alonzo Engwanda is also unfit to feature for the home side, while Can Bozdogan's fitness currently hangs in the balance after coming off with an injury scare last time out.

Sem Scheperman and Nikolai Laursen will not play any part for Heracles here as they continue to nurse respective knee problems, with the latter yet to appear since early January.

Sava-Arangel Cestic will also miss this weekend's trip through an ankle problem and is joined on the sidelines by fellow long-term absentee Stijn Bultman.

Brian De Keersmaecker grabbed a double on his return to action for the away side to take his tally to three goals, one more than he managed throughout the entirety of last season.

FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:

Barkas; El Karouani, Viergever, Van der Hoorn, Horemans; Fraulo, Aaronson; Booth, Jensen, Cathline; Min

Heracles possible starting lineup:

De Keijzer; Roosken, Mesik, Mirani, Benita; Van Kaam, De Keersmaecker; Zand, Engels, Podgoreanu; Hornkamp

We say: FC Utrecht 3-1 Heracles

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