Both looking to record their first wins of the new league campaign, PEC Zwolle and Feyenoord will lock horns at a sold-out MAC PARK Stadion on Sunday afternoon in the Eredivisie.
The Blauwvingers failed to earn any points from their trip to FC Utrecht last weekend, whilst the Pride of the South were forced to share the spoils with a newly-promoted side on home soil.
Match preview
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After a promotion-winning campaign from the Eerste Divisie during 2022-23, PEC Zwolle achieved their primary goal of the surviving at the top table of Dutch football in 2023-24, ending up in 12th place after the 34-game schedule, seven points ahead of SBV Excelsior in 16th.
Now on a mission to finish inside the top nine of the Eredivisie for the first time since 2018, the Blauwvingers suffered defeat on the opening weekend of the fresh campaign, with a well-taken first-half goal from Ole Romeny securing maximum points for Utrecht at Stadion Galgenwaard.
Taking pre-season friendly fixtures into account, PEC Zwolle are currently enduring a five-game losing streak, with their most recent success in any form arriving against Dutch giants Ajax at the start of July, when Anthony Fontana netted the only goal of the warm-up contest.
The Blauwvingers are battling on in 2024-25 term without the talents of their top goalscorer and playmaker in Lennart Thy and Younes Namli respectively from last season, with the former securing a switch to Singapore Premier League outfit Lion City Sailors after netting 13 times in the Eredivisie during 2023-24.
Heading into his second full campaign as PEC Zwolle head coach, Johnny Jansen will be looking for his 10th win as manager of the the Zwolle-based club on Sunday afternoon, when the visit of 16-time Dutch champions will provide a serious test of the hosts' top-tier credentials.
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With former boss Arne Slot leaving to the riches of the Premier League, taking over the reins from Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager, Brian Priske is the new man in charge at Feyenoord, where he will be striving to add an Eredivisie title to a CV that already contains Czech and Danish domestic crowns.
The Pride of the South's quest for top-flight supremacy did not start smoothly last Saturday, though, as Eerste Divisie winners Willem II travelled to Rotterdam and escaped clutching a valuable point, with a late Kyan Vaesen strike cancelling out Antoni Milambo's opener.
Despite the disappointment of their Eredivisie curtain raiser, Feyenoord will be relatively pleased with their competitive work so far this season considering that they lifted their fifth-ever Dutch Super Cup at the start of August, beating current champions PSV Eindhoven in a penalty shootout.
Under Slot, the Pride of the South were a formidable force on the road during the 2023-24 season, dropping points on just four occasions and losing only once in 17 outings, allowing them to collect a mammoth total of 42 points from away contests - a tally that could only be matched by Peter Bosz's PSV.
To say that Feyenoord have a good recent record against Sunday's hosts would be a serious understatement, with the visitors to MAC PARK Stadion currently enjoying a 10-game winning streak against PEC Zwolle stretching back to a 1-0 success over John Stegeman's Zwolle in December 2019.
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Team News
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Featuring in his first competitive match for PEC Zwolle last weekend since joining on loan from Ajax, Tristan Gooijer picked up a knee injury and is expected to be sidelined until the end of September.
As a result, Spaniard Anselmo Garcia McNulty now requires a new partner at centre-back, with 20-year-old Nick Fichtinger a possible candidate for the role.
Feyenoord also have limited options at the heart of their backline, as veteran Gernot Trauner recovers from a thigh injury sustained whilst on international duty with Austria at Euro 2024.
The Pride of the South's choices at full-back are restricted by the absence of Quilindschy Hartman, who has not played since the final day of March because of a knee injury.
The visitors could hand a pair of Premier League loanees their Eredivisie debuts on Sunday afternoon, with Ibrahim Osman and Hugo Bueno both set to be involved.
PEC Zwolle possible starting lineup:
Schendelaar; Reijnders, Fichtinger, McNulty, Lutonda; Van den Berg, El Azzouzi, Manu, Velanas, Krastev; Buitink
Feyenoord possible starting lineup:
Wellenreuther; Geertruida, Kasanwirjo, Hancko; Nieuwkoop, Milambo, Zerrouki, Lopez; Ivanusec, Paixao, Gimenez
We say: PEC Zwolle 0-2 Feyenoord
PEC Zwolle mustered just a single shot on goal against Utrecht last weekend, and we cannot envisage the hosts' attacking metrics improving versus Feyenoord.
The Pride of the South peppered the Willem net last time out but failed to earn maximum points, although we believe that the title challengers will get back on track in Zwolle.
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