Aiming to build on their best-ever start to an Eredivisie campaign, SBV Excelsior will welcome an out-of-form PEC Zwolle side to Van Donge & De Roo Stadion on Sunday afternoon for an intriguing-looking clash.
The Rotterdam-based club are enjoying a stellar opening to their season despite being held to a goalless draw at Vitesse prior to the international break, whereas Zwolle have been unable to collect any points from their last three matches.
Match preview
Sitting proudly in the top five of the Eredivisie standings, Excelsior travelled to strugglers Vitesse just before the season's second international hoping to make it three-straight league successes, but the visitors were frustratingly unable to get the better of their counterparts, settling for a share of the spoils.
Despite the Kralingers' dominance at Gelredome, it was Excelsior stopper Stijn van Gassel who produced a total of seven saves to keep the hosts at bay, and at the other end Nikolas Agrafiotis had chances to record a goal in a fifth-straight Eredivisie away game, although Eloy Room denied the Serbian on multiple occasions.
Marinus Dijkhuizen admitted a point at Vitesse did not fill him with excitement as club football paused for the October internationals, but a tally of 13 points from eight matches so far leaves his men in fifth place, representing the best-ever start to a top-flight campaign for SBV.
After narrowly avoiding the relegation playoffs last term by finishing 15th, Sunday's hosts are once again relying on a core of players who earned them promotion from the second tier in the 2021-22 term, including attackers Agrafiotis and Couhaib Driouech.
Only six of Excelsior's 13 Eredivisie points to date have arrived at their Van Donge & De Roo Stadion base, but their single victory in four matches in front of their home faithful came on October 1, when a 94th-minute winner from Tottenham Hotspur loanee Troy Parrott secured a maximum against local rivals Sparta Rotterdam.
PEC Zwolle recently endured their first genuine rocky patch on their return to the Eredivisie following a second-placed finish in Eerste Divisie last term, with Sunday's visitors losing matches against AZ Alkmaar, Heracles and current Dutch champions and Champions League contenders Feyenoord at Mac Park Stadion.
Johnny Jansen's men were the latest victims of the goalscoring antics of striker Santiago Gimenez, who bagged a brilliant brace in Zwolle to condemn the newly-promoted side to their fifth defeat in eight league matches so far - although it must be mentioned that the Mexican was gifted his first strike of the afternoon by a moment of madness from Jasper Schendelaar.
Supporters for PEC will realise that the fate of their campaign will not be decided by contests with some of the division's title challengers, and the Bluefingers have fared well against sides of their calibre this term, earning maximums against both FC Utrecht and Eredivisie first-timers Almere City.
Although a result against the champions was unlikely last time out, the absences of forward duo Lennart Thy and Ferdy Druijf did not help matters for Zwolle, with the pair netting four of their side's seven league goals to date in the 2023-24 campaign.
Sunday's meeting in Rotterdam will be the first between the clubs in the Eredivisie since March 2019, when a PEC side then managed by former Manchester United centre-back Jaap Stam ran out comfortable winners courtesy of goals from Kingsley Ehizibue and Younes Namli, with the latter still a key figure for the visitors.
Team News
Excelsior's defensive options reduced further during the stalemate with Vitesse last time out as Serano Seymor was forced off in the first half following a knock, meaning Swede Casper Widell is the only centre-back guaranteed to be available for this weekend.
Midfielder Redouan El Yaakoubi dropped into defence after Seymor's exit from the contest, and similar tactics on Sunday from Dijkhuizen would hand Ajax loanee Kian Fitz-Jim an opportunity to start his first Eredivisie match in the hosts' engine room since making the temporary switch to the Kralingers.
SBV are still sweating over the fitness of attack-minded midfielder Noah Naujoks, although the two-week international pause has helped the 21-year-old speed up his recovery from an ankle injury sustained in early September.
Zwolle will be hoping that top scorers Thy and Druijf can make their much-needed returns to the XI after they both missed out against Feyenoord, but Greek duo Apostolos Vellios and Odysseus Velanas will be waiting in the wings should they be called upon.
Kenneth Vermeer may be closer to taking over as first-choice goalkeeper for the visitors after a poor display from Schendelaar last time out, although the 37-year-old will likely have to settle for a place amongst the substitutes once again.
Full-back Samir Lagsir remains sidelined due to a knee issue picked up during Zwolle's promotion-winning campaign of 2022-23, but the arrival of Anselmo Garcia McNulty in the summer from Wolfsburg means PEC still have capable options on the left side of their backline.
SBV Excelsior possible starting lineup:
Van Gassel; Horemans, Widell, Yaakoubi, Zagre; Baas, Fitz-Jim, Sandra; Fernandes, Driouech, Agrafiotis
PEC Zwolle possible starting lineup:
Schendelaar; Reijnders, Kersten, Lam, McNulty; Buurmeester, Huiberts, Van ben Berg; Namli, Druijf, Thy
We say: SBV Excelsior 2-1 PEC Zwolle
Excelsior have enjoyed a productive start to the season and will be confident of extending their unbeaten run to five matches against a Zwolle side who have stuttered in recent games.
The visitors face another difficult assignment following contests with AZ, Heracles and Feyenoord prior to the international pause, and we believe that Jansen's men will come up short in Rotterdam on Sunday.
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