FC Groningen will conclude the first part of the competition on Sunday afternoon with a home match against Fortuna Sittard. An important match the club will have to make up for after a lesser exit in Utrecht last weekend. It’s also the last game before a long winter break as the Qatar World Cup approaches.
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Usually the World Cup is held in the summer period, but due to the intense heat it was decided to hold the tournament in the winter. The result is that the Eredivisie will not resume until the weekend of January 7 and 8, so the teams will not be in business for two months. This is all the more reason to end up with a good result. Due to the 2-1 defeat last weekend, FC Groningen saw the bottom positions approaching again, adding to the negative pressure once again.
FC Groningen and Fortuna Sittard have nothing to do with each other in the standings. Numbers 14 and 13 have twelve points from thirteen matches. In terms of goal difference, the difference is only three goals against FC. Both teams scored fifteen goals. FC Groningen collected 26 winners and Limburger 23. Fortuna had a good streak under new coach Julio Velasquez, but with two recent defeats and a cup elimination, there is no consistency any longer.
In any case, it is important for FC Groningen to settle in the bottom positions with this competitor. Given all the trouble surrounding the temporary lack of communication from RTV Noord last weekend, the club could use some positivity given the damage to its image. Knowing that striker Ricardo Pepe was no surprise in the final USA squad for the World Cup, North Pride is on the hunt for a complete win.
It is the twentieth meeting at the highest level. In the previous nineteen matches, FC Groningen had won fourteen times and drawn twice and Fortuna had taken the trophy three times. It happened the last time the two met. On February 12, Groningen lost 1-0. The last victory dates back to February 28, 2021. The controversial one, Paul Abraham, scored the only goal in the 50th minute.
Kick-off at Euroborg starts on Sunday afternoon at 2:30pm.
