Feyenoord head to Sparta Rotterdam on Sunday with the chance to take a giant stride towards the Eredivisie title. The leaders are six points clear with eight matches left, but their opponents are sixth in the standings.Â
Despite Ajax’s dominance in Dutch football, Feyenoord have been impressive this season. Arne Slot’s side overturned a half-time deficit to beat the defending champions 3-2 away from home before the international break. They have now gone 19 matches unbeaten, and have won six in a row.
Sparta have been up and down this season, but have won their last three matches against Excelsior, Vitesse and Emmen. Maurice Steijn’s team are in contention for European qualification, and will be keen to keep up their momentum.
Feyenoord have the second-best away record in the league, but Sparta have the fourth-best home record, having collected 26 points from 13 games. Sunday’s match could be the toughest one left on the Rotterdamers’ calendar, and the result could have a huge bearing on the title race.
Here is the latest form ahead of the match:Â
Sparta: W-L-L-W-W
Feyenoord: W-W-D-W-W
Team news
Winger Oussama Idrissi will be absent from Feyenoord’s lineup this weekend after receiving his fifth yellow card in their last match.
Javairo Dilrosun looks likely to fill in on the left flank, but Slot is facing further issues due to injuries to defender Lutsharel Geertruida and midfielder Sebastian Szymanski’s knee problem.
Marcus Pedersen could be chosen to play at right-back, with Mohamed Taabouni potentially getting a rare start if Szymanski is ruled out.
Providing there are no further injury issues, Slot should be able to pick the same Sparta XI that started their victory at Emmen before the international break.
Jonathan de Guzman, who hasn’t featured since early March, is once again expected to miss out, but Adil Auassar is available again after serving his suspension.
