Fortuna Sittard vs Excelsior Prediction: Buijs' Attack Aims to Exploit Defensive Frailties

Fortuna Sittard host Excelsior at the Fortuna Sittard Stadion on 25 October 2026, with sixth placed Fortuna entering the game unbeaten in their last three Eredivisie matches against a side that just shipped four goals to Heerenveen. Fortuna have 15 points from nine games and solid momentum, whereas Excelsior sit tenth with 11 points and mounting questions about what happens when they travel. With a KNVB Beker fixture coming up shortly after, Buijs will want this settled comfortably and without burning too many legs in the process.

Danny Buijs and Ruben den Uil have no prior managerial meetings to draw on, den Uil having only taken charge of Excelsior in July 2024. Fortuna's last three league games have produced one win and two draws, the most recent a 2-2 away at NEC Nijmegen on 18 October 2026 that showed they can give a lead away as quickly as they build one. Excelsior have been poor, running L-L-D-L-D in their last five with that 0-4 hammering by Heerenveen at the centre of it and Den Uil's side have taken one point from a possible twelve on the road this season.

Buijs has been in charge since July 2023, while den Uil, who replaced Marinus Dijkhuizen in July 2024, runs a young Excelsior side built on counter attacks. The injury news is bad for Buijs: Iván Márquez, Yassin Oukili, Ramazan Bayram and Ole Romeny are all out, Jasper Dahlhaus is a doubt with a leg problem and Mohamed Ihattaren's fitness is uncertain too, a heavy toll on both central defence and midfield creativity. Excelsior, by contrast, have a clean bill of health giving den Uil a full squad to pick from.

Fortuna line up in a 5-3-2 that pushes full backs high to create wide overloads, feeding Anthony Descotte and Lequincio Zeefuik up top. Descotte is the man to watch, with five league goals including a recent brace and his movement in behind is likely to give Excelsior's backline problems given how vulnerable it has looked away from home. When Ihattaren is fit he supplies the creative midfield passing but his availability here is uncertain. Without Márquez, Oukili, Bayram and Romeny, Buijs is leaning on less experienced cover against a team that can counter quickly, which is a problem the hosts cannot entirely paper over.

Excelsior's 4-3-3 relies on Irakli Yegoian's ability to supply goals and assists from midfield, with David Garden and Aymen Sliti providing running channels ahead of him. The structure is energetic but, as Heerenveen demonstrated by going through them four times once the first line was bypassed, it has plain gaps in behind. The absence of Fortuna's usual defensive starters could work in Excelsior's favour if Garden and Sliti can isolate the home side's wing backs, though Fortuna's numerical depth in the 5-3-2 makes that difficult to do consistently.

The individual battle that matters most is Descotte against Excelsior's central defenders, who have already been cut open on their travels. If Yegoian ends up tracking runners rather than joining attacks, Excelsior lose much of what makes them dangerous going forward leaving Fortuna's wide players more room to operate.

Fortuna hold the edge in the head to head with four wins from eight meetings against Excelsior's two, with two draws alongside. The most recent encounter went to Fortuna, 2-1 on 20 February 2026, though Excelsior claimed a 1-0 win back in October 2025 and four of the eight meetings have been one-goal games.

With four of Fortuna's regular defensive starters out, Excelsior's corners and free kicks carry more weight than usual, especially if Dahlhaus and Ihattaren are limited too. Fortuna's plan is to get Descotte in behind and punish mistakes in transition rather than worry about dead ball situations, though the tight schedule after this match means Buijs may manage possession with one eye on what comes next.

Fortuna Sittard to win 2-1. Descotte in form against a backline that has already been cut open on the road is a straightforward mismatch to back and the 5-3-2 gives Fortuna enough defensive shape to contain Excelsior's counters. Losing four starters in defence and midfield makes a clean sheet unlikely and Excelsior will get a goal but Fortuna have won four of the eight h2h meetings and are unbeaten in their last three, that's the basis for the call, not a hunch. Three points are going home.