Preview: PEC Zwolle vs Go Ahead Eagles - prediction, team news, lineups

Desperate to climb out of the Eredivisie drop zone, PEC Zwolle welcome local rivals Go Ahead Eagles to the Mac3Park Stadion on Sunday in gameweek nine.

The visitors, meanwhile, head to Zwolle aiming to reignite their European ambitions after four consecutive draws have stalled their momentum.

Match preview

After suffering back-to-back defeats by a combined score of 10-0, PEC Zwolle viewed last weekend’s home clash with newly promoted Cambuur as a golden opportunity to get back on track. Instead, their campaign hit a new low with a 1-0 defeat.

No Eredivisie team has lost more matches than De Blauwvingers, who have the the league’s weakest attack with just six goals. Meanwhile, only Utrecht and Willem II have conceded more than their 21 goals allowed.

To be fair to Henry van der Vegt, a tough early schedule - featuring six of last season’s top ten - has not helped, but that was not enough to save the 54-year-old, who became the first managerial casualty of the 2026-27 Eredivisie campaign.

Zwolle have approached former Manchester United assistant and Dutch manager Rene Hake about the vacancy, but no appointment is expected before the weekend. As a result, current assistant Dennis van der Ree is set to oversee the derby.

Van der Ree will be hoping to end a miserable run against Go Ahead Eagles: Zwolle are winless in eight meetings since 2017 and have lost the last two clashes, most recently a 5-0 thrashing in April.

With wins over Willem II and ADO Den Haag, plus a commendable 2-2 draw with Feyenoord, Go Ahead Eagles collected seven points from their opening three matchdays, their best start since returning to the top flight five years ago. However, subsequents results have been underwhelming.

Joseph Oosting’s men suffered their first defeat of 2026-27 in a 5-2 loss to AZ Alkmaar at the end of August, and have since drawn four straight - most recently an entertaining 3-3 with Sparta Rotterdam - leaving them winless in five outings.

Having let in late goals en route to two of the four aforementioned stalemates, the Pride of the IJssel Kowet have been consistently punished for their vulnerability in the final 15 minutes of matches - conceding just under a third of their 17 goals in that period this season.

One of six Eredivisie teams yet to keep a clean sheet, Go Ahead Eagles will back themselves to end that drought against opponents who failed to score in both of last season’s league meetings and have drawn blanks in three consecutive matches ahead of this weekend.

Like Sunday’s hosts, the visitors have also conceded first in four of their last five matches, so early dominance could be key to determining which way the contest swings.

PEC Zwolle Eredivisie form:

Go Ahead Eagles Eredivisie form:

Team News

Zwolle’s Filip Krastev remains sidelined with an Achilles tendon injury sustained while on loan at Goztepe last season.

Younes Namli is also unavailable for the hosts, having not featured since suffering a knee injury in April.

Ryan Thomas started on his return to action against Cambuur and is expected to keep his place in the XI.

Pim Saathof remains out with a knee injury and is one of two injury concerns for Go Ahead Eagles, alongside Julius Dirksen, who missed the Sparta draw.

Following his goal last time out, Soren Tengstedt now has eight direct goal contributions - six goals and two assists - in his last eight matches, making the Dane one to watch.

PEC Zwolle possible starting lineup:

Schendelaar; Aertssen, Graves, Viergever, Floranus; Thomas, Sommer; Mbayo, Oosting, Cissoko; Kostons

Go Ahead Eagles possible starting lineup:

Haug; James, Kramer, Van Zwam, Sampsted; Linthorst, Meulensteen; Suray, Edvardsen, Tengstedt; Sigurdarson

We say: PEC Zwolle 1-2 Go Ahead Eagles

A leaky defence combined with a misfiring attack is a calamitous combination, and Zwolle have issues at both ends of the pitch to address if they are to spark a turnaround.

While Go Ahead have not been at their best, we tip the visitors to leave Sunday’s derby with all three points.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.