- 1 Groningen vs Sparta Rotterdam: three straight league defeats to Sparta, and not one Groningen goal in them
- 2 Groningen: 14 of 24 league goals from Willumsson and Van Bergen
- 3 Sparta Rotterdam: no clean sheet in ten games and 24 league goals conceded
- 4 Free Football Prediction: Groningen vs Sparta Rotterdam
- 5 About our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About visuals
Groningen vs Sparta Rotterdam: three straight league defeats to Sparta, and not one Groningen goal in them 
Groningen haven’t scored against Sparta Rotterdam in their last three league meetings. Sparta won 1-0 on 2 February 2025, 2-0 at the Euroborg on 19 October 2025 and 2-0 again on 31 January 2026, when Shunsuke Mito scored both goals.
That run sits awkwardly next to the current table. Groningen are eighth with 15 points from ten games, four wins, three draws and three defeats, and they’ve scored 24 league goals. Sparta are 14th on nine points with two wins all season and 24 goals conceded.
Kick-off at the Euroborg is 15:45 UK time on Sunday 1 November, in Gameweek 11, with Martijn Vos refereeing. Both sides went out of the KNVB Beker in midweek: Groningen lost 2-0 to Emmen, and Sparta drew 2-2 with Fortuna Sittard before losing on penalties.
The longer record also leans to the visitors. Across 17 meetings Sparta have won nine, Groningen five, and three have been drawn. Both teams have scored in ten of those 17 games.
We give the recent head-to-head less weight than usual, because this Groningen side scores in a way the 2025 versions didn’t. Brynjolfur Willumsson has eight league goals in ten games, joint top of the Eredivisie scoring chart with Go Ahead Eagles’ Soren Tengstedt, and Thom van Bergen has six more.
Sparta, for their part, haven’t kept a clean sheet in any of their last ten matches in all competitions, and Vos has shown an average of 4.3 cards per game in his three matches this season.
Groningen: 14 of 24 league goals from Willumsson and Van Bergen 
Willumsson and Van Bergen have scored 14 of Groningen’s 24 league goals between them. The Icelandic forward scored both in last weekend’s 2-2 draw with NEC, his latest contribution to a ten-game total that puts him level at the top of the scoring list.
Dick Lukkien’s side have been open at home. They’ve scored 11 goals in five league games at the Euroborg and conceded 11, which includes a 5-1 win over Excelsior and a 5-2 defeat to Ajax on 18 October.
The last six league results read 2-2 against Twente, 1-1 against Go Ahead Eagles, 3-0 against PEC Zwolle, 5-1 against Excelsior, 2-5 against Ajax and 2-2 against NEC. Across their last ten in all competitions Groningen have averaged 2.20 goals scored and 2.20 conceded, with both teams scoring in eight of them.
The cup defeat to Emmen added to the injury list. Travis Hernes went off injured and is expected to miss out while he waits on hospital tests, and Elvis van der Laan, Tyrique Mercera and Ryan Metu are also unavailable.
Lukkien is expected to keep Vaessen in goal behind Hateboer, Blokzijl, Csinger and Rente. De Jonge and Clement should sit in midfield, with Schreuders, Van Bergen and Van der Werff behind Willumsson.
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Sparta Rotterdam: no clean sheet in ten games and 24 league goals conceded 
Rogier Meijer, who replaced Maurice Steijn in the summer, has a side that concedes in every game. Sparta haven’t kept a clean sheet in their last ten matches, and both teams have scored in nine of them.
Their last six league results are a 2-2 draw with PEC Zwolle, a 4-1 defeat at PSV, a 4-0 home defeat to Heerenveen, a 3-3 draw at Go Ahead Eagles, a 3-2 win over Willem II and a 2-1 home defeat to Ajax last Sunday. Jens Toornstra scored against Ajax in his 500th Eredivisie appearance, at 37.
On the road they’ve won once, drawn once and lost twice in four league games, scoring eight and conceding ten. Across the last ten matches in all competitions Sparta have scored 1.90 goals per game and conceded 2.50.
Toornstra and Martins Indi were rested for the cup tie and should return to the starting XI. Mitchell van Bergen is available after coming off the bench against Ajax, while Max de Ligt is injured.
Mito, who scored twice in January’s 2-0 win over Groningen, hasn’t played since September. He’s expected back in the squad, although his status was still listed as uncertain at the time of writing.
Meijer is expected to use a back five of Martes, Young, Verschuren, Martins Indi and Kuipers, with Van Cruijsen, Toornstra, Hatenboer and Babadi in front of it and Zonneveld leading the line.
Probable lineup Groningen: Vaessen; Hateboer, Blokzijl, Csinger, Rente; De Jonge, Clement; Schreuders, Van Bergen, Van der Werff; Willumsson
Probable lineup Sparta Rotterdam: Brouwer; Martes, Young, Verschuren, Martins Indi, Kuipers; Van Cruijsen, Toornstra, Hatenboer, Babadi; Zonneveld
Free Football Prediction: Groningen vs Sparta Rotterdam
Our prediction: Brynjolfur Willumsson to score anytime @ 1.90
Both teams to score and over 2.5 goals are both priced at 1.44, below the level we’d recommend, so we’ve taken the player route. Willumsson has eight goals in ten league games, scored twice last weekend and faces a defence that hasn’t kept a clean sheet in ten matches.
The case against is the head-to-head: Groningen failed to score in all three of the last league meetings. Those games came before Willumsson’s current run, though, and Sparta have since conceded four at PSV, four at home to Heerenveen and three at Go Ahead Eagles.
Groningen have scored at least twice in five of their last six league games, and Willumsson is the player those goals run through. At 1.90 for him to score at any time, we think the price is generous.
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