- 1 PEC Zwolle vs Go Ahead Eagles: a caretaker, a derby and the league’s weakest attack
- 2 PEC Zwolle: one goal in four home games and no goal at all in three
- 3 Go Ahead Eagles: four straight draws and six goals in eight games for Tengstedt
- 4 Free Football Prediction: PEC Zwolle vs Go Ahead Eagles
- 5 About our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About visuals
PEC Zwolle vs Go Ahead Eagles: a caretaker, a derby and the league’s weakest attack 
Henry van der Vegt became the first managerial casualty of the 2026-27 Eredivisie season when PEC Zwolle dismissed him. His assistant, Dennis van der Ree, takes charge for Sunday’s derby against Go Ahead Eagles, while the club have approached Rene Hake about the permanent job.
The numbers behind the decision are stark. Zwolle are 16th with four points from eight games, they’ve scored six league goals, the fewest in the division, and they’ve conceded 21. Only Utrecht and Willem II have let in more. After eight rounds the two clubs are separated by seven points and by 17 goals of goal difference, with Zwolle on minus 15 and Go Ahead on plus two.
The home record is worse still. Four league games at the MAC³PARK Stadion have produced four defeats, one goal and 13 conceded, including a 7-0 loss to Feyenoord and last weekend’s 1-0 defeat to promoted Cambuur.
Go Ahead Eagles arrive ninth on 11 points, unbeaten in four league games, all of them draws. Results against Utrecht (3-3), Groningen (1-1), NEC (1-1) and Sparta Rotterdam (3-3) have kept Joseph Oosting’s side in the top half without moving them up it.
History is firmly on the visitors’ side. Zwolle haven’t beaten Go Ahead in eight meetings since 2017, and they lost the most recent one 5-0 in April. Kick-off is at 11:15 UK time on Sunday 18 October.
PEC Zwolle: one goal in four home games and no goal at all in three 
Zwolle’s only league win came away from home, 2-0 at Heerenveen. Since then they’ve taken one point from five games, a 2-2 draw at Sparta Rotterdam, and they’ve failed to score in the last three: 7-0 against Feyenoord, 3-0 at Groningen and 1-0 against Cambuur.
Conceding first has become a habit as well. Zwolle went behind first in four of their last five matches, which forces a side with the league’s weakest attack to chase games it can’t control.
Two of the attacking options are missing. Filip Krastev is sidelined with an Achilles problem, and Younes Namli hasn’t played since April because of a knee injury. Ryan Thomas is back from injury and is expected to keep his place in midfield alongside Sommer.
Van der Ree is likely to stay with a 4-2-3-1, with Kostons as the lone striker and Mbayo, Oosting and Cissoko behind him. It’s the same shape that has produced six goals in eight league games. Viergever and Graves should continue at centre-back, with Schendelaar in goal behind a defence that has conceded 21 times.
A new face on the touchline can bring a reaction, and a derby is the sort of game where that shows. I’d still want to see Zwolle score at home before trusting them against a side that has scored 13 goals in its last six league games.
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Go Ahead Eagles: four straight draws and six goals in eight games for Tengstedt 
Go Ahead took seven points from the first three matchdays, their best start since returning to the top flight five years ago. The 3-1 win over ADO Den Haag was the last time one of their performances turned into three points.
Since then they’ve lost 5-2 at AZ and drawn four in a row. Two of those draws finished 3-3, and Go Ahead conceded first in four of their last five games, the same record as Zwolle.
On the road they average two goals scored and 2.8 conceded per league game, from three draws and one defeat. They haven’t won away yet this season, and that’s the strongest argument against backing them here.
Søren Tengstedt is the reason the goals keep coming. He has six goals and two assists in his last eight matches and should start in the attacking line behind Sigurdarson, with Suray and Edvardsen alongside him.
Pim Saathof is out with a knee injury and Julius Dirksen is a concern after missing the 3-3 with Sparta. Otherwise Oosting has a settled side, with Linthorst and Meulensteen in midfield and Haug in goal.
Probable lineup PEC Zwolle: Schendelaar; Aertssen, Graves, Viergever, Floranus; Thomas, Sommer; Mbayo, Oosting, Cissoko; Kostons
Probable lineup Go Ahead Eagles: Haug; James, Kramer, Van Zwam, Sampsted; Linthorst, Meulensteen; Suray, Edvardsen, Tengstedt; Sigurdarson
Free Football Prediction: PEC Zwolle vs Go Ahead Eagles
Our prediction: Go Ahead Eagles to win (odds 1.95)
Go Ahead Eagles to win at 1.95. Zwolle have lost all four home league games and scored once in them, they haven’t scored at all in their last three matches, and they’ve gone eight meetings without beating Sunday’s opponents.
Go Ahead haven’t won away this season, which is a fair concern, and four straight draws point to a side that struggles to close games out. A caretaker manager in a derby can also produce a one-off performance. Both teams to score and over 2.5 goals are each priced at 1.44, which is too short given Zwolle’s three straight blanks, so the away win at 1.95, with the draw at 3.90 and Zwolle at 3.50, is where the value sits.
Set against Zwolle’s attack, though, Go Ahead’s scoring is what separates the sides. They’ve scored 13 in their last six league games, Zwolle have six all season, and Tengstedt has been directly involved in eight goals in his last eight matches. At 1.95, that’s the side I’d back.
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