Off the back of securing a hard-fought point last time out, Go Ahead Eagles will be aiming to go one better when they welcome PEC Zwolle to De Adelaarshorst on Sunday afternoon.
On the other hand, Zwolle will make the journey this weekend currently on a run of three consecutive defeats across all competitions and in need of a huge boost.
Match preview
Go Ahead Eagles were on the verge of suffering back-to-back defeats for the first time since August before an impressive second-half display saw them force a share of the spoils against AZ Alkmaar at the AFAS Stadion on Sunday.
Goals either half of the interval from Troy Parrott and Denso Kasius left Paul Simonis's men with a mountain to climb before Gerrit Nauber and Victor Edvardsen restored parity with two well-taken strikes.
Since kicking off September with a comprehensive 3-0 loss against PSV Eindhoven, the pride of the IJssel Kowet are now unbeaten in five of their subsequent six matches, although their only defeat in that time was a comprehensive 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Feyenoord.
Having recently come within touching distance of securing Conference League football, Go Ahead Eagles are set for another charge at continental qualification this term and currently sit eighth in the Eredivisie table, albeit ahead of Fortuna Sittard only on goals scored in the race for the final European spot.
Sunday's hosts will now gear themselves up for the visit of an opposing outfit with little to choose between the sides across both of last season's league meetings, which ended in a pair of 1-1 stalemates.
PEC Zwolle's abysmal season went from bad to worse last time out as they were knocked out of this year's KNVB Beker by NEC when the teams locked horns in Tuesday's seven-goal thriller at Stadion de Goffert.
After four goals split evenly in normal time, Kento Shiogai and Koki Ogawa were on target in extra time to render Thomas Buitink's late penalty inconsequential and condemn Johnny Jansen's men to defeat.
This followed consecutive losses against NAC Breda and defending champions PSV to leave De Blauwvingers bottom but one in the league standings, one point adrift of safety ahead of Sunday's trip to Deventer.
Zwolle have struggled defensively all-season long, and their four goals conceded against NEC in midweek means they have now been breached on 12 occasions across their most recent three involvements.
Seeking what would be only a first competitive victory away from home since early February, this weekend's visitors simply cannot allow another defensive meltdown in their quest to secure a rare triumph on the road.
Team News
Go Ahead Eagles forward Soren Tengstedt is out of contention for a fourth straight game with a knee problem and currently faces an extended spell out of action.
However, Dean James is back available for the home side after making his comeback from an injury spell with a seven-minute cameo against AZ Alkmaar last time out.
Dutch duo Samir Lagsir and Tristan Gooijer are both unavailable for Zwolle this weekend due to knee injuries, with the former still yet to feature since February 2023.
Simon Graves also misses out for the away side through a damaged knee, while 30-year-old Younes Namli is ineligible to feature as he serves a suspension.
Go Ahead Eagles possible starting lineup:
Plogmann; Adelgaard, Kramer, Nauber, Deijl; Linthorst, Llansana; O Edvardsen, Breum, Adekanye; V Edvardsen
PEC Zwolle possible starting lineup:
Schendelaar; Van der Haar, MacNulty, Aertssen, Floranus; Mbayo, Van Der Berg, El Azzouzi, Monteiro, Krastev; Vente
We say: Go Ahead Eagles 2-0 PEC Zwolle
Given Zwolle's away struggles so far, anything less than three points would be a less than ideal outcome for Go Ahead Eagles.
While we expect the visitors to put up a decent fight, we fully fancy the home side to carry the day at the end of the 90 minutes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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