🏏 Sat, 29 Aug 2026 21:00 CEST
PEC Zwolle
vs
NEC Nijmegen
4-2-3-1 vs 3-4-1-2
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- Two sides level on three points meet in the bottom half. PEC Zwolle are 14th, having won one and lost two of their three games with a goal difference of -2, while NEC Nijmegen sit 11th from two matches, one win and one defeat, at +2. With AZ Alkmaar already clear on 12 points and +10 from four games, both need traction early in the campaign.
- Zwolle's start was rough before it turned: 0-2 at home to Ajax on matchday one, 3-1 down at Twente in round two, then a 2-0 win away at Heerenveen that delivered a first victory and a first clean sheet in the same afternoon. This is only their second home fixture of the season.
- NEC's two matches have been a study in contrast. They were beaten 1-2 at home by promoted Telstar on the opening weekend, then swept Willem II aside 4-1 on the road. Five goals in two games is a healthy return, and the fact that their only win came away from home is encouraging for this trip.
- Jamiro Monteiro returns to a former club. The 32-year-old Cape Verde international spent time at PEC Zwolle before moving on to Metz and then Philadelphia Union, where he was a Designated Player in MLS, and he featured at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. At 172cm he thrives in tight areas, and he starts as one of NEC's central four.
- Zwolle have their own reunion on the bench. Ibrahim Sissoko, 23, broke through at NEC Nijmegen before spells with Toulouse, Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth. Standing 174cm, his acceleration and dribbling make him an obvious option to run at a back three later in the game.
- The shape battle is 4-2-3-1 against 3-4-1-2. Zwolle's double pivot pairs 24-year-old Dane Tobias Sorensen, 186cm and combative, with New Zealand international R. Thomas. Thomas first joined Zwolle in 2013, helped them win the 2015 Dutch Super Cup, endured a serious knee injury at PSV and returned to the club in 2022.
- Dusan Tadic remains NEC's reference point. The 37-year-old Serbia international won the Eredivisie and reached a Champions League semi-final with Ajax, and has also played for Southampton, Twente and Fenerbahce. From the hole in a 3-4-1-2 he feeds a front two of B. Linssen, a 35-year-old 170cm finisher who once played in Japan for Urawa Red Diamonds, and left-footed Suriname international T. Chery.
- Both back lines lean on experience. NEC's 191cm B. Nuytinck, 36, marshals the back three after years in Serie A with Udinese and Sampdoria and three Belgian league titles at Anderlecht. Zwolle counter with 37-year-old Nick Viergever, a left-footed centre-back who has worn both the Ajax and PSV shirts and still starts the build-up from deep.
- Zwolle's goals run through K. Coustons. The 186cm striker scored 32 in 157 games for MVV Maastricht, hit 11 in 16 for Dalkurd in Sweden and sampled the 2. Bundesliga with Paderborn. Behind him is T. Oosting, 26, an AZ Alkmaar academy product on loan from Groningen whose final ball is the team's main source of creation.
- The benches offer contrast. NEC can introduce W. Willumsson, the 193cm left-footed Iceland international who made his name at Go Ahead Eagles before Birmingham City, and 169cm Turkey forward Emre Mor, once signed by Borussia Dortmund. Zwolle name Jaziel Pereira da Gama, born in 2009 and still only 16, among their substitutes.