VVV-Venlo are set to welcome PEC Zwolle on Saturday evening in matchday 10 of the Eredivisie season, after falling to a 2-1 defeat against Willem II last week.
PEC Zwolle, on the other hand, picked up a 1-1 draw against FC Utrecht - featuring Mustafa Saymak's first goal of the campaign.
Match preview
VVV have endured a pretty poor start to the 2020-21 season, securing just two league victories as they find themselves occupying 14th place in the table.
Hans de Koning's men have also suffered five league defeats this campaign, including their embarrassing 13-0 loss against Ajax last month, with the Dutch giants recording the biggest victory in Eredivisie history.
Despite the damaging result, the Good Old have picked up two wins since the defeat - a 4-2 triumph against Den Bosch in the KNVB-Beker and a narrow 3-2 victory against Heracles earlier this month.
However, their defensive record has been particularly poor, failing to keep a clean sheet during the entirety of the 2020-21 season so far.
Their latest result featured two early goals from Willem II, with the home team gaining a comfortable lead within the first 20 minutes. Although Giorgos Giakoumakis was able to get one back in the latter stages of the first half, they were unable to find that all-important equaliser.
Meanwhile, Zwolle have claimed just one league victory this season as well as registering a further five draws - picking up eight points as they occupy 11th place.
In fact, they have the same number of points as VVV heading into the match, with goal difference the only factor separating the two sides.
Their only win this season came against Sparta Rotterdam in September, where John Stegeman's men secured a convincing 4-0 victory against their fellow Eredivisie side.
Therefore, the Dutch manager will be hoping to get his team back to winning ways this weekend, despite their poor away form.
VVV and Zwolle previously met in December last year, when Zwolle conjured up a 2-1 victory against their opponents. Worryingly, this was also the last time Stegeman's men managed an away win.
VVV-Venlo Eredivisie form: LWLLDL
VVV-Venlo form (all competitions): LWLWLD
PEC Zwolle Eredivisie form: DDLDDL
Team News
Fans will be pleased to know that neither side has any injuries ahead of Saturday's fixture, with both managers able to pick from a fully fit squad.
De Koning could make a few changes to the side that lost against Willem II last weekend, bringing in Simon Janssen and Zinedine Machach.
Giakoumakis is also expected to keep his place in the starting XI, with the striker scoring eight goals in nine league games this season.
For Zwolle, Stegeman could field a similar side that picked up a 1-1 draw against Utrecht, with the coach potentially replacing Yuta Nakayama for Rico Strieder.
VVV-Venlo possible starting lineup:
Kirschbaum; Pachonik, Gelmi, Swinkels, Schafer; Linthorst, Post, Janssen; Machach, Giakoumakis, Van Crooy
PEC Zwolle possible starting lineup:
Zetterer; Van Wermeskerken, Kersten, Lam, Paal; Huiberts, Strieder, Saymak; Reijnders, Tedic, Pherai
We say: VVV-Venlo 1-1 PEC Zwolle
Currently, there is not much to separate the two teams, therefore a 1-1 draw seems like the appropriate result for Saturday night. Although Zwolle have arguably been the stronger side this season, their recent away form suggests they will not be able to pick up three points this weekend.
Top betting tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a PEC Zwolle win with a probability of 40.2%. A win for VVV-Venlo had a probability of 34.07% and a draw had a probability of 25.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a PEC Zwolle win was 0-1 with a probability of 9.5%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.66%) and 0-2 (6.74%). The likeliest VVV-Venlo win was 1-0 (8.61%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.2%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 5.6% likelihood.
