Preview: PEC Zwolle vs. Cambuur - prediction, team news, lineups

Cambuur will hope the momentum they built before the hiatus has not been lost when they travel to out-of-form PEC Zwolle for Sunday’s gameweek eight encounter in the Eredivisie.

Returning to the top flight after three years away initially appeared a tall order, but Johan Plat’s men seemed to be finding their feet before the pause and will aim to extend their three-match unbeaten run against a Zwolle side reeling from conceding 10 goals across two games.

Match preview

While Cambuur may have considered the international break poorly timed, Henry van der Vegt’s side will have breathed a huge sigh of relief when the pause arrived.

After suffering a 7-0 home thrashing by Feyenoord, the Blauwvingers then fell to a 3-0 defeat against Groningen in gameweek seven to register their third loss in four matches, with a 2-2 draw against Sparta Rotterdam preventing four consecutive reverses.

Back on home soil for the first time since conceding seven against Feyenoord, the Bluefingers will aim to end their ongoing malaise in front of their supporters.

All three home matches this term have ended in defeat for the side occupying the Eredivisie’s relegation playoff spot: a 2-0 loss to Ajax, a 3-1 reverse against NEC Nijmegen and a 7-0 annihilation at the hands of the Rotterdam giants.

Having also lost 2-0 to Feyenoord in their final home match of the 2025-26 season, Van der Vegt’s men enter this weekend on the back of four straight defeats at MAC³PARK Stadion, where they have conceded 14 goals and scored just once after previously losing only one of nine.

Cambuur will undoubtedly be aware of those statistics when they travel to Zwolle on Sunday, aiming to extend their three-match unbeaten sequence.

Eredivisie football was initially unkind to SCC, as Plat’s men lost each of their first four matches while conceding at least three goals in defeats against SBV Excelsior (4-0), Fortuna Sittard (3-1), Feyenoord (5-2) and Telstar (4-1).

However, they seemingly found the right formula in a 2-2 draw against Telstar before stunning NEC 3-0 in gameweek six to record their only victory to date.

A 1-1 draw away at ADO Den Haag was their second consecutive stalemate on the road, and they will now seek to make it third time lucky against the out-of-form Blauwvingers.

Sitting one point clear of their hosts and three above the relegation zone, the Yellow-Blues will welcome the opportunity to establish some separation from danger in the early-season standings.

PEC Zwolle Eredivisie form:

Cambuur Eredivisie form:

Team News

PEC are without Younes Namli (hamstring) and Filip Krastev (Achilles), while the conditions of Ibrahim Cissoko and Ryan Thomas will be evaluated before the match.

After scoring in three consecutive games, Koen Kostons has now drawn blanks in back-to-back defeats against Feyenoord and Groningen; however, he will hope to rediscover his scoring touch against a Cambuur side that have kept just one clean sheet all season.

Given that Kostons remains the only player to score more than once for Van der Vegt’s men, others may need to step up if their leading marksman has another off day.

On the injury front for the visitors, Nicolas Binder’s availability is uncertain, while Wout Asselman and Daan Visser (ACL) are ruled out.

Rafik El Arguioui has scored four goals for the promoted side, with Ilyes Hamache netting three and their combined tally accounting for 70% of SCC’s 10 goals.

PEC Zwolle possible starting lineup:

Schendelaar; Aertssen, Graves, Viergever, Floranus; Oosting, Fichtinger, Sommer; Mbayo, Kostons, Sorensen

Cambuur possible starting lineup:

Jansen; Bouah, Baouf, Van Duijl, Costarelli; Maertens, Souren; Kvam, El Arguioui, Hamache; Bouhoudane

We say: PEC Zwolle 1-2 Cambuur

PEC’s miserable home form and the 10 goals conceded across their last two matches leave them vulnerable against opponents who were building momentum before the break.

Cambuur remain defensively suspect, but El Arguioui and Hamache can fire the promoted side to a valuable away victory.

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