Utrecht vs Go Ahead Eagles

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Go Ahead Eagles and FC Utrecht will play each other on Sunday night in an attempt to qualify for Europe in 2024–25.

This matchup at Stadion Galgenwaard was set up by both clubs' comeback victories in the semi-finals of their respective European championship playoffs.

FC Utrecht has been among the top teams in the Eredivisie since the international break in October, but they still had to work hard to get here.

They had a stalemate against Sparta Rotterdam to preserve their hopes of qualifying for Europe after finishing the regular season with just one victory in four games, while fifth place was within their reach.

Rene Hake's side, on the other hand, has lost a lot of the momentum they had early in the season and has only managed one victory in their last nine games.

However, they turned things around at NEC Nijmegen after winning 2-1 at FC Volendam on the last day to go back on track.

Go up Eagles were behind 1-0 going into the last fifteen minutes, but goals from Philippe Rommens and Finn Stokkers put them up and in position to make an uncommon trip to the continent.

In the match against Sparta, Mike van der Hoorn was substituted in the second half and contributed to the team's victory.

Depending on the formation he chooses, Jans will now have to decide whether to recall the defender instead of midfielder Zidane Iqbal.

Substituting for Othmane Boussaid, Victor Jensen scored, posing another selection conundrum for Jans.

In midweek, Stokkers took the place of the injured Bobby Adekanye after 70 minutes, and that change might be done right away.

That might result in Victor Edvardsen moving to the flank, which might end up being the only alteration.

When they fell behind in the 38th minute, Ron Jans might have been worried about how the semifinal was unfolding, but Ryan Flamingo's equalizer three minutes later calmed the team's nerves.

Utrecht went on to score twice in the final 20 minutes, securing a 3-1 victory at Stadion Galgenwaard and setting up a home game for the final.

Jans's team finished the regular season with 29 points from their 17 home matches, the sixth-best performance in the league.

Go Ahead Eagles also managed a commendable away record, earning 21 points from 17 away games, ending the season with the ninth-best away performance.

FC Utrecht, buoyed by their recent success, aim to continue their winning streak following a 3-1 victory over Sparta Rotterdam in the Eredivisie - Europa Play-offs.

During that match, FC Utrecht held 50% possession and took 19 shots, with 7 on target. Goals were netted by Ryan Flamingo (41'), Sam Lammers (70'), and Victor Jensen (93'). Sparta Rotterdam, on the other hand, had 17 shots with 3 on target, and Tobias Lauritsen (38') scored their only goal.

Recently, it has been uncommon for FC Utrecht to maintain a clean sheet for the entire game. In fact, they have conceded goals in 5 of their last 6 matches, totaling 8 goals against them. Whether this pattern will continue remains to be seen.

Go Ahead Eagles enter this match after a 2-1 win over NEC in their latest Eredivisie - Europa Play-offs encounter.

In that game, Go Ahead Eagles had 54% possession and 25 shots, with 7 on target. Finn Stokkers (77') and Philippe Rommens (86') were the goal scorers for Go Ahead Eagles. NEC Nijmegen had 14 shots with just 1 on target, and Kodai Sano (57') scored for NEC.

The statistics reveal that Go Ahead Eagles have conceded goals in 5 of their last 6 matches, allowing a total of 10 goals. This indicates defensive vulnerabilities that need to be addressed.