Highlighted: Fortuna Sittard aims for the top position

If Fortuna Sittard manages to defeat Excelsior, they will, for only the second time in their club history, finish a day as the highest-placed team in the Netherlands. For some Fortuna fans, it could be the first time they see their club at the top of the Eredivisie; the previous occurrence was in the 1992/93 season when Fortuna drew 1-1 against MVV in the season opener. They could become the 22nd club in this century to hold the top spot in the Eredivisie for a day. Excelsior is already part of this elite group, as they held the top spot for a day last season with six points after two matches.

Danny Buijs has made a strong start at Fortuna. The team's defense is solid, and their offensive game is also performing well. However, in the first two match rounds, only four teams managed more shots than Fortuna (35). Only Go Ahead Eagles (15) had more ball possession in the final third of the field than Fortuna (13, along with FC Utrecht and Feyenoord).

For this offensive force, it's unfortunate for Fortuna that Paul Gladon won't be participating on Saturday. The 31-year-old native of Haarlem bid farewell to Fortuna Sittard this week and is continuing his career in Armenia, where he will be playing for the league leader FC Noah.

Since early April, no player has been involved in as many Fortuna shots in the league as Gladon (38 - 29 shots and 9 created chances), and during that period, he's also been the club's MVP (4 goals and 0 assists). In this Eredivisie season, the striker has been involved in fourteen out of thirty-five Fortuna shots, with only Feyenoord's Igor Paixão having more involvement in goal attempts in the 2023/24 season.

Who will take over Paul Gladon's role on Saturday? Marko Lazetić made the switch from AC Milan to Sittard on loan yesterday and is seen as Gladon's replacement. However, it's still unclear whether Lazetić will be able to make his debut in Rotterdam on Saturday. The club and authorities are currently in the process of arranging his residence and work permit.

In the previous 24 Eredivisie seasons, Fortuna remained unbeaten in the first three matches of the season only twice: in 1989/90 and 1990/91 when they suffered their first loss in the sixth match. Coach Danny Buijs is in his sixth season as a head coach at the highest level; he has never started a season with Fortuna Sittard without a loss in the first three league matches. It's time to change that and be at the top of Teletekst page 819 on Saturday night or of course in our own Eredivisie app.