Aiming to keep their hopes of European football alive, FC Utrecht will welcome midtable dwellers PEC Zwolle to Stadion Galgenwaard on Wednesday night in the Eredivisie.
The Cathedral Citizens suffered a heavy defeat at the home of Feyenoord last time out, whilst the Blauwvingers were beaten on their own patch by Ajax.
Match preview
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Following a narrow 1-0 success over NEC prior to the first international break of the calendar year, Utrecht were unable to make it back-to-back Eredivisie wins for the first time since February, losing 4-2 at Dutch champions Feyenoord on Saturday in a packed-out Rotterdam Stadium.
The Pride of the South found themselves two goals behind after strikes from Othman Boussaid and Sam Lammers from the penalty spot, but Arne Slot's side produced an impressive comeback, with goals from Igor Paixao, David Hancko and Leo Sauer helping the hosts to maximum points.
After a remarkable four-game winning run in the Eredivisie across the entire month of February, Ron Jans's men have stuttered in recent matches, meaning they are now hanging onto eighth place and a Europa Conference League playoff spot, with Wednesday's hosts just two points ahead of Sparta Rotterdam in ninth.
The Cathedral Citizens have been relatively solid at their Stadion Galgenwaard base so far this season, winning five and collecting 20 points from 13 Eredivisie home matches, last tasting defeat in front of their own supporters in September, when top-flight newcomers Almere City escaped with three points.
PEC Zwolle extended their winless run in the Eredivisie to a worrying seven matches on Sunday afternoon, when perennial Dutch champions Ajax arrived at MAC Park Stadion and managed to return to Amsterdam with maximum points for their efforts in Zwolle.
The visitors raced into a two-goal lead in the opening 25 minutes of the contest courtesy of strikes from Kristian Hlynsson and Chuba Akpom, and although Filip Krastev reduced the deficit in the second period, a second of the day for former Middlesbrough marksman Akpom secured a victory for John van 't Schip's side.
Having failed to earn an Eredivisie win since the trip to Sparta Rotterdam at the beginning of February, Johnny Jansen's charges are sliding slowly towards trouble near the foot of the top-flight standings, with Wednesday's visitors currently in 13th, six points ahead of SBV Excelsior in the relegation-playoff spot.
The Blauwvingers' form on their league travels has actually been better than their record at MAC Park Stadion so far in the 2023-24 campaign, with 16 of Zwolle's 28 Eredivisie points arriving on the road to date.
Team News
Utrecht remain without the services of American Taylor Booth, who had really begun to hit his stride in the Netherlands before suffering a knee injury in February.
The Cathedrals Citizens are also unable to call upon the talents of Tim Handwerker, who is now sidelined for the remainder of the term due to a cruciate ligament injury.
The hosts are short of options on the right flank because of Ole Romeny's absence, with the 23-year-old a doubt for Wednesday due to a finger injury.
PEC Zwolle are without one of their attacking stars ahead of Wednesday's clash in Utrecht, as Dutch marksman Ferdy Druijf continues to recover from a knee issue.
His absence will mean that leading goalscoring Lennart Thy should represent the focal point of the Blauwvingers' attack once again, with the German looking to notch his 11th Eredivisie goal of the season.
FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:
Barkas; Vesterlund, Flamingo, Viergever, Elkarouani; Bozdogan, Fraulo, Toornstra, Jensen, Boussaid; Lammers
PEC Zwolle possible starting lineup:
Schendelaar; Van Polen, Kersten, Lam, McNulty; El Azzouzi, Van den Berg; Namli, Velanas, Reijnders; Thy
We say: FC Utrecht 2-0 PEC Zwolle
After threatening a shock victory in the opening stages at Feyenoord, Utrecht should be confident of earning maximum points versus an out-of-form Zwolle outfit.
The Blauwvingers are stumbling towards trouble, and we feel that Jansen's woes in the PEC hotseat will continue on Wednesday night.
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Carter White
