Willem IIvs.RKC Waalwijk

Match preview

Willem II were handed a tough opening assignment on their return to the Dutch top flight but did well to come away with a share of the spoils from their curtain-raiser against Feyenoord on August 10.

Peter Maes's men claimed a 2-0 win over in their subsequent encounter against Go Ahead Eagles before playing out a goalless stalemate against Heracles to preserve their unbeaten run after three matches.

However, De Superkruiken were finally on the wrong end of the scoreline in their most recent outing away at Sparta Rotterdam, where they fell to a 2-1 defeat just before the international break.

Off the back of a goalless first half, Willem II were breached within three minutes of the restart by Pelle Clement, after which Cisse Sandra restored parity in the 84th minute, only for Camiel Neghli to net a late decider.

That ended a streak of 13 games without defeat in competitive matches for Sunday's hosts, who will now set out to avoid suffering back-to-back defeats for the first time since early March.

Waalwijk are currently in need of an urgent renaissance after an abysmal start to the campaign, which has seen them come away empty-handed in each of their four involvements this term.

A 5-1 defeat to reigning champions PSV Eindhoven on the opening weekend set the tone for Henk Fraser's men, who have since been beaten by Groningen, Go Ahead Eagles and, most recently, AZ Alkmaar.

In that time, RKC have conceded the joint-most goals of any Eredivisie outfit with 12 alongside Almere City, while no team has scored fewer than their tally of two goals so far.

As a result, Sunday's visitors sit bottom of the Eredivisie table, three points adrift of safety heading into this weekend's clash against an opposing side boasting eight wins from the last 11 editions of this fixture.

Willem II Eredivisie form:

D

W

D

L

RKC Waalwijk Eredivisie form:

Team News

Niels van Berkel is still ruled out for Willem II due to a long-term knee problem which has ruled him out of action since the third week of December.

Dutch duo Erik Schouten and Dani Mathieu are also out of contention here, although the former is relatively closer to making his comeback.

On-loan midfielder Cisse Sandra opened his account for the campaign with a lovely strike against Sparta last time out, and he will be looking to come up trumps for the hosts once again.

Waalwijk's Nouri El Harmazi is a guaranteed absentee for this weekend's affair as he continues to battle with a shoulder problem, while Richard van der Venne misses out with a muscle injury.

Yassin Oukili is eligible to return to action for the away side after serving a one-game suspension for his red card against Go Ahead Eagles.

However, 35-year-old Michiel Kramer will not play any part here having received his marching orders for a rash challenge in the defeat to AZ.

Willem II possible starting lineup:

Didillon; Tirpan, Behounek, St Jago; Sigurgeirsson, Lackhar, Bosch, Meerveld, Doodeman; Sandra, Vaesen

RKC Waalwijk possible starting lineup:

Houwen; Meijers, Van den Buijs, Van Ejima, Lelieveld; Oukili, Roemeratoe; Lokesa, Niemeijer, Cleonise; Margaret

We say: Willem II 2-1 RKC Waalwijk

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