🏏 Fri, 28 Aug 2026 20:00 CEST
FC Groningen
vs
Fortuna Sittard
4-2-3-1 vs 5-3-2
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- Fifth-placed Groningen (2W-0D-1L, 6 points) host eighth-placed Fortuna Sittard (1W-1D-1L, 4 points) in a tight mid-table meeting separated by just two points. Both sides carry an identical goal difference of zero after three rounds. Groningen sit three points behind leaders AZ Alkmaar on nine, so dropping points at home would leave them adrift of the early front-runners.
- Neither side arrives with settled momentum. Groningen opened with a 2-1 home win over Utrecht and then hammered ADO Den Haag 4-1 away, before being taken apart 1-5 at PSV in round three. Fortuna drew 2-2 away at PSV, beat Cambuur 3-1 at home, then lost 0-2 at home to league leaders AZ. Both teams are looking to reset after a defeat.
- The tactical puzzle is Groningen's 4-2-3-1 against Fortuna's 5-3-2. The visitors field wing-backs Dalhaus, 24, and 36-year-old captain Ivo Pinto, with Hubner, the 191cm Rodrigo Guth and the passing-minded Brittijn across a back five. With only Wilmsson leading the line, Groningen will need runners from their attacking trio and genuine width to stretch that block.
- Fortuna's midfield contains two one-time prodigies. Ihattaren, 24, an attacking midfielder wearing 52, tore up the Eredivisie as a teenager at PSV before spells at Juventus, Sampdoria, Ajax and RKC, and remains a gifted left-footer. Alongside him, 23-year-old Michut was dubbed the 'new Verratti' in PSG's academy and has since played for Sunderland and Adana Demirspor. Two left-footed distributors will test Groningen's double pivot.
- Groningen answer with 23-year-old central midfielder Ticho de Jonge, schooled at NAC Breda and Feyenoord, next to 20-year-old Tygo Land, on loan from PSV. Land is only 168cm but a Dutch youth international with a fine passing tempo, and he plays this one straight after his parent club put five past Groningen. Ahead of them, Clement, 24, an Ajax academy product with Reading and PEC Zwolle behind him, controls the rhythm.
- Five academy graduates start for Groningen. Left-back Wouter Prins, 22, owns a long throw that turns throw-ins into set-piece deliveries; centre-back Tijmen Blokzijl, 21, stands 190cm and has been capped at Dutch youth level. On the right, Singapore-born Jorg Schrijvers, 21, is a 188cm winger who debuted in 2023, while van Bergen, 22, and van der Werff, 21, complete the homegrown core.
- The aerial battle should be worth watching. Fortuna striker Zeefuik, 21, on loan from AZ, is a towering 197cm target man whose heading and hold-up play are his calling cards, and he faces 190cm Blokzijl plus 23-year-old Hungarian Csinger, a defender built on duel-winning. At the other end Groningen aim for 185cm Iceland international Wilmsson, 26, whose brother plays for NEC.
- There is a familiar face in the middle of Fortuna's back five for Japanese viewers. Justin Hubner, a 22-year-old, 187cm centre-back, came through Wolverhampton Wanderers' academy and spent time in J1 with Cerezo Osaka. He took Indonesian nationality in 2023 and made his international debut, and combines pace and height with a willingness to step into build-up play.
- RKC Waalwijk connections run through both squads. Groningen goalkeeper Etienne Vaessen, 31 and 189cm, made 196 appearances across nine years at RKC, and midfielder Clement also spent time there. For Fortuna, RKC was Ihattaren's most recent club before this move, giving the fixture a handful of reunions.
- Groningen hold the deeper bench. Sweden international winger Jacob Ondrejka, 23, joined on loan this summer from Parma, who paid around seven million euros for him after his moves from Elfsborg to Royal Antwerp, and he can beat a man outside or cut inside. Behind him wait 192cm Polish forward Oskar Zawada, 30, and 20-year-old Travis Hernes, on loan from Newcastle United.