Title challengers FC Utrecht will continue their quest for domestic glory when they visit the MAC³PARK Stadion on Saturday evening to face off against PEC Zwolle in round 21 of the 2024-25 Eredivisie season.
Both teams are on a high heading into this one as the hosts go in search of a third straight victory this weekend while the away side are unbeaten since the turn of the year.
Match preview
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Utrecht exhibited great powers of recovery on enemy territory once again as they snatched a point in the final knockings of Friday's meeting against Heracles Almelo which ended 1-1 at the Asito Stadium.
Following a rare clean sheet against AZ Alkmaar six days earlier, Ron Jans's men were breached on the stroke of the hour mark this time around courtesy of Thomas Bruns's opener before Souffian El Karouani levelled matters in second-half stoppage time.
Admittedly, consecutive draws over the last fortnight have somewhat derailed De Domstedelingen's title charge, but they remain within eight points of current leaders PSV Eindhoven at the top of the Eredivisie table.
Since a 5-2 thrashing against Fortuna Sittard in their final outing of 2024, Utrecht are without defeat across all competitions and will be confident of keeping that run going against a Zwolle side that have lost each of the most recent three editions of this fixture.
However, given their recent defensive fragility, which has seen them manage just two clean sheets over the last 12 league matches, Saturday's visitors will need to tighten up at the back ahead of a crucial February schedule.
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In keeping with a barren December, which saw them fail to win any game, PEC Zwolle came away empty-handed from their opening involvement of 2025 against NEC Nijmegen following a 1-0 defeat on January 11.
Producing arguably the biggest upset of the season, Johnny Jansen's men claimed a stunning 3-1 victory over PSV seven days ago and have since followed that up with an emphatic 4-1 win over Fortuna Sittard on Sunday.
Dylan Vente continued his hot streak in front of goal for De Blauwvingers with two goals to take him up to four in his last four matches either side of the new year, and he was joined on the score sheet by Davy Van Den Berg and Filip Krastev.
Zwolle's recent resurgence has seen them move six points clear of the relegation zone, and more impressively, they now sit just two points shy of Fortuna in the race for the final Conference League playoff spot.
Returning to their home turf for the first time since beating PSV, Saturday's hosts will now set out aiming to secure another huge feather in the cap against more illustrious opponents in front of their fans.
Team News
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Tristan Gooijer and Samir Lagsir are guaranteed absentees for PEC Zwolle due to knee injuries, while fellow Dutchman Jasper Schendelaar is set to miss a third straight game through injury.
The home side are also expected to be without the services of midfielder Younes Namli, who continues to recuperate from a groin injury he suffered two months ago.
Forwards Filip Krastev and Dylan Vente have scored a combined six goals across their last two matches and will be looking to come up with the goods once again.
Utrecht have a host of unavailable players for this one, headlined by Mike van der Hoorn, as the veteran prepares to see his streak of 20 consecutive league outings this term come to an end due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
Miguel Rodriguez and Noah Ohio are ruled out through groin and foot injuries respectively, with the latter still awaiting his first outing since the middle of December.
Rickson Van Hees is out of contention here due to a knee problem, but the American is edging increasingly closer to making a return to action for the away side.
PEC Zwolle possible starting lineup:
Hauptmeijer; Van der Haar, Graves, MacNulty, Aertssen; Van Den Berg, El Azzouzi; Krastev, Monteiro, Mbayo; Vente
FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:
Barkas; El Karouani, Viergever, Didden, Horemans; Aaronson, Iqbal; Cathline, Toornstra, Jonathans; Haller
We say: PEC Zwolle 1-2 FC Utrecht
Both teams will have good reason to believe they can claim all three points here which should give rise to an exciting affair.
That said, we are backing the away side to narrowly edge out their hosts and come out on top when all is said and done.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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