In search of a third consecutive Eredivisie victory, Groningen play host to Fortuna Sittard at the Hitachi Capital Mobility Stadion on Saturday.

The away side are also seeking back to back wins heading into this one having ended a six-game winless streak last time out.

Match preview

Groningen picked up a first home league victory since October on Sunday when they saw off the threat of Go Ahead Eagles in a 2-1 triumph.

Danny Buijs's men had Jorgen Strand Larsen to thank for all three points as the forward netted either side of Giannis-Foivos Botos's equaliser.

The Pride of the North have moved up to 10th place in the Eredivisie table and are now closing in on the top half from which they are currently separated by two points.

Next up for them is a shot at completing a league double over an opposing side who suffered a 4-1 defeat in November's reverse fixture.

Despite amassing just 12 of a possible 30 points in front of their fans, Saturday's hosts have been defensively solid as only Ajax have conceded fewer goals on home turf.

Fortuna Sittard secured their first win since the turn of the year by beating Heerenveen 2-0 at the Fortuna Sittard Stadion on Saturday.

Goals in both halves from Zian Flemming proved to be the difference for Sjors Ultee's men as they secured a much-needed three points.

Consequently, the Fortunezen have moved up one spot into 16th place in the standings and are now just four points adrift of safety.

Having conceded the most goals in the entire division so far, Saturday's visitors will need to tighten up at the back if they are to beat the drop come May.

Groningen Eredivisie form:

Groningen form (all competitions):

Fortuna Sittard Eredivisie form:

Fortuna Sittard form (all competitions):

Team News

Paulos Abraham grabbed the winner in the last edition of this fixture, but the midfielder has struggled in front of goal of late having failed to score in 16 outings.

Daleho Irandust and Radinio Balker are guaranteed absentees for this weekend's contest as they continue to nurse muscle and knee injuries respectively.

Norwegian forward Jorgen Strand Larsen has now equalled last season's tally of nine strikes and will be aiming to set a new personal record.

Fortuna's Zian Flemming is expected to lead the line once again and will do so with the wind in his sails off the back of a superb display last time out.

Twenty-four-year-old Samy Baghdadi is set to sit out a seventh straight game due to a knee problem which he picked up back in December.

Groningen possible starting lineup:
Leeuwenburgh; Dankerlui, Te Wierik, Van Hintum, Meijer; Suslov, Kasanwirjo, Duarte, Abraham; Larsen, De Leeuw

Fortuna Sittard possible starting lineup:
Van Osch; Siovas, Samaris, Angha; Tirpan, Duarte, Rienstra, Cox; Tekie, Flemming, Seuntjens

SM words green background

We say: Groningen 1-0 Fortuna Sittard

Neither team is renowned for being too adventurous, so we expect a low-scoring drab affair with both sides employing a cautious approach. However, Groningen just about edge their opponents on paper, and we are tipping them to carry the day.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Groningen win with a probability of 60.89%. A draw had a probability of 23.9% and a win for Fortuna Sittard had a probability of 15.21%.

The most likely scoreline for a Groningen win was 1-0 with a probability of 15.69%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (13.11%) and 2-1 (9.1%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.89%), while for a Fortuna Sittard win it was 0-1 (6.52%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 6.5% likelihood.