Two teams who could really do with a victory lock horns at the MAC3PARK Stadion on Sunday as PEC Zwolle entertain the challenge of Almere City.
Both sides came away empty-handed from their respective most recent outings and now go in search of an immediate response this weekend.
Match preview
PEC Zwolle had nothing to show for a highly spirited display against AZ Alkmaar, as they fell to a narrow 2-1 defeat in Friday's meeting to get round six of the current campaign underway.
Sloppy starts saw Johnny Jansen's men concede within the opening six minutes of both halves to Ibrahim Sadiq, leaving them with a mountain to climb, after which Dylan Vente pulled one back midway through the second period.
That was a fourth defeat in six league outings this term for De Blauwvingers either side of a comprehensive 3-0 thrashing of Heracles just before the international break earlier this month.
Currently lying in the relegation playoff place in the Eredivisie table, Zwolle will be keen to get their season back on track this weekend at the expense of an opposing outfit with only one win from the last 16 clashes.
However, it is worth noting that the solitary triumph did come in the most recent encounter back in February, as Sunday's hosts fell to a 1-0 defeat against their visitors in last season's reverse fixture.
Almere City suffered their heaviest defeat of the campaign last time out, having been on the receiving end of a 5-0 drubbing from FC Twente at the Yanmar Stadion on Sunday afternoon.
Despite recording more than twice as many shots (13) as their opponents (six) in the first half, Hedwiges Maduro's men went into the interval trailing to a Sem Steijn brace before Sam Lammers, Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Anass Salah-Eddine put the game beyond reach.
Alongside RKC Waalwijk, De Zwarte Schapen are one of two teams still without a victory so far and currently sit bottom but one in the league standings with two points from a possible 18.
No team in the division has conceded more times than Almere's 17, while their tally of two goals is also the lowest of all Dutch top-flight teams, highlighting their need for improvements at both ends of the pitch.
Team News
Tristan Gooijer and Samir Lagsir are both unavailable for Zwolle through knee injuries, with the latter still yet to feature since the turn of the year.
Braydon Manu will miss a sixth consecutive game with a muscle problem he picked up in the hosts' curtain-raiser against FC Utrecht last month.
Thomas Robinet grabbed the winner for Almere City in the last meeting between Sunday's opponents and will be looking to deliver the goods once again.
Nineteen-year-old Emanuel Poku could be called up to the senior team for this one having been in scintillating form for the youth team with five goals in four matches.
PEC Zwolle possible starting lineup:
Schendelaar; Floranus, Graves, MacNulty, Van der Haar; El Azzouzi, Monteiro, Van den Berg; Mbayo, Vente, Krastev
Almere City possible starting lineup:
Bakker; Akujobi, Visus, Lawrence, Zagaritis; Haye, Tahiri; Hansen, Robinet, Kadile; Guillaume
We say: PEC Zwolle 2-0 Almere City
Given Almere City's defensive struggles, Zwolle will fancy their chances of heaping more misery on their visitors, and we can see the hosts coming away with maximum points in the end.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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