Utrecht vs Sparta Rotterdam prediction, preview, team news and more | Eredivisie 2023-24

FC Utrecht and Sparta Rotterdam trade tackles in an Eredivisie Conference League playoff tie on Thursday (May 23). The hosts booked their place in the playoff courtesy of their seventh-placed finish in the regular season, while Sparta finished eighth.

Utrecht ended the regular season with a thrilling six-goal stalemate at AZ Alkmaar over the weekend. They were three goals down at the break, courtesy of goals from Mees de Wit, Ruben van Bommel and Vangelis Pavlidis. However, a spectacular fightback saw Othman Boussaid, Sam Lammers and Victor Jensen score to complete the comeback.

Sparta, meanwhile, claimed maximum points with a 2-1 home win over Heerenveen in their final game of the regular season. All three goals came in the second half, with Camiel Neghli and Tobias Lauritsen scoring for the hosts, while Pawel Bochniewicz scored a late consolation strike in injury time.

The winner of this tie face NEC Nijmegen or Go Ahead Eagles for a spot in the UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers.

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Utrecht vs Sparta Rotterdam Head-to-Head

Utrecht have 38 wins from their last 93 head-to-head games with Sparta, who have 33 wins. Their most recent clash came a fortnight ago when Utrecht claimed a 1-0 away win in the penultimate game of the regular season.

Utrecht form guide: D-L-W-D-W

Sparta Rotterdam form guide: W-W-L-W-W

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Utrecht vs Sparta Rotterdam Team News

Utrecht

Tim Handwerker is ruled out with a knee injury, while Kevin Gadellaa and Anthony Descotte are doubts.

Injury: Tim Handwerker

Doubtful: Kevin Gadellaa, Anthony Descotte

Suspension: None

Sparta Rotterdam

Django Warmerdam and Arno Verschueren are injured, while Joshua Kitolano is a doubt.

Injuries: Django Warmerdam, Arno Verschueren

Doubtful: Joshua Kitolano

Suspension: None

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Utrecht vs Sparta Rotterdam Predicted XIs

Utrecht (4-2-3-1): Vasilios Brkas (GK); Souffian El Karouani, Mark van der Maarel, Ryan Flamingo, Hiide ter Avest; Zidane Iqbal, Can Bozdogan; Othman Boussaid, Jens Toornstra, Taylor Booth; Sam Lammers

Sparta Rotterdam (4-3-3): Nick Olij (GK); Djevencio van der Kust, Tijs Velthuis, Bart Vriends, Said Bakari; Pelle Clement, Jonathan de Guzman, Metinho; Koki Saito, Tobias Lauritsen, Camiel Neghli

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Utrecht vs Sparta Rotterdam Prediction

Utrecht showed incredible powers of recovery to come back from three goals down and claim a draw against Alkmaar. Confidence will be high in Ron Jans' side, and they will look to build on that.

Sparta, meanwhile, ended the season on a high, winning four of their final five games, but they enter the game as the slight underdogs.

Expect the hosts to claim a narrow win with goals to be scored at both ends.

Prediction: Utrecht 2-1 Sparta