The two teams started the new season with not much difference in performance, last round 1-0 defeat, 2 consecutive victories currently 8 points; last round, a draw, the past 4 games all draw with the opponent, the league for 5 consecutive rounds of undefeated, and currently has 7 points. In terms of the lineup, Utrecht center back Van der Hoorn continues to be injured, and the team has little room for other positional adjustments. On the Nijmegen side, star center back Kramer and attacking midfielder Bruin were both injured in training last week, especially Kramer's injury, which has stretched Utrecht's already underprivileged center back position to the limit. The team can only borrow wingback Ville Donk to play as a center back.
Utrecht is currently on a 2-game winning streak, and the last time the team won 3 in a row in the Dutch Eredivisie was in September-October 2021, where the team beat Nijmegen 3-0. In the Dutch Eredivisie's Friday night matches, Utrecht has a total of 32 home matches, with an outstanding 21 wins, 9 draws, and 2 defeats, while in comparison, Nijmegen has only 1 win in the last 10 Friday matches.
The attacking stats are also very much in favor of Utrecht, as the team's Dost and Dovicas have combined for nine goals this season, with the former scoring five. In contrast, Nijmegen have scored a total of 7 goals this season, scored by 7 different players, showing the lack of a consistent offense. I've watched a few Nijmegen matches off and on, and it's a team that's not very aggressive offensively, which explains why they've drawn 4 games in a row with their opponents. In contrast, Utrecht's offensive line has better quality and is good at taking chances.
