Aiming to end a five-match league winless run and crack the top six of the Eredivisie table, Go Ahead Eagles will travel to take on PEC Zwolle on Sunday.
The visitors trail sixth-placed AZ Alkmaar by three points with three games remaining, while their hosts all but guaranteed their safety last time out.
Match preview
PEC Zwolle head into action on Sunday with the chance to guarantee their Eredivisie safety and confirm a third consecutive season in the Dutch top flight, having moved clear of the bottom three with a victory last time out.
After a 12th-placed finish in their first campaign following promotion last time around, the Blauwvingers find themselves 14th having earned 34 points from their 31 games thus far, winning eight and losing 13 of those.
They looked set to fight against the threat of relegation in the final run-in with just 25 points on the board from 25 matches, but Johnny Jansen have moved all but clear of the bottom three since, firstly recording three draws and a victory in an unbeaten spell between mid-March and mid-April.
That was halted by a 4-0 beating away at Feyenoord, but they bounced back again last time out, visiting 15th-placed NAC Breda and prevailing in a 3-1 triumph thanks to goals from Younes Namli, Odysseus Velanas and Kaj de Rooij.
Now sitting 14th and nine points clear of the relegation playoff place and just one point behind 11th-placed Sparta Rotterdam with three games remaining, PEC Zwolle will bid to make it back-to-back wins to move out of reach of the bottom three and climb the bottom half of the table.
Their visitors, meanwhile, make the trip aiming to end a five-match winless run and move into the top six, having experienced a dip in league form alongside a cup triumph.
Following a ninth-placed finish last time around in the Dutch top flight, Go Ahead Eagles sat in the top-six race on 44 points from 26 league games in mid-March, but they have since added just two more points to that tally in five further attempts.
That rut was broken up by the KNVB Cup final against AZ Alkmaar, as The pride of the IJssel levelled the tie at a goal apiece through a 99th-minute Mats Deijl penalty and went on to lift the trophy by prevailing in the penalty shootout, earning their first piece of major domestic silverware in the process.
Paul Simonis‘s side followed up that triumph with a goalless stalemate away at Almere City, before they hosted AZ Alkmaar in a repeat of the final last weekend and suffered a 3-0 beating as Gerrit Nauber scored an own goal alongside finishes from Wouter Goes and Jayden Addai.
While continental qualification is already sealed thanks to their cup glory, Go Ahead Eagles now find themselves three points behind sixth-placed AZ, and they will hope to narrow that gap in the final run-in with a return to winning ways on Sunday.
Team News
PEC Zwolle should be unchanged from last week’s 3-1 away win, with Olivier Aertssen, Tristan Gooijer and Samir Lagsir remaining sidelined by injuries.
Dylan Vente will continue to lead the line, having netted a team-high tally of 13 league goals this season, while Filip Krastev and Davy Van Den Berg are key men in support.
Younes Namli will again complete the attacking setup after his goal last time out, while Anouar El Azzouzi and Ryan Thomas will continue their partnership in the engine room.
Go Ahead Eagles have several selection issues of their own, with top scorer Jakob Breum confined to the treatment room alongside Dean James and Calvin Twigt.
Defender Aske Adelgaard will also miss out through suspension, after receiving a fifth yellow card of the season last time out, meaning Luka Everink may come into the back four from the outset.
Milan Smit should again lead the line with support from Victor Edvardsen, who has notched up eight goals and six assists in the Eredivisie this term, while Robbin Weijenberg will hope to partner mainstay Evert Linthorst in the engine again.
PEC Zwolle possible starting lineup:
Schendelaar; Reijnders, Graves, Garcia MacNulty, Floranus; El Azzouzi, Thomas; Namli, Van Den Berg, Krastev; Vente
Go Ahead Eagles possible starting lineup:
De Busser; Deijl, Nauber, Kramer, Everink; Weijenberg, Linthorst; Antman, Edvardsen, Suray; Smit
We say: PEC Zwolle 1-1 Go Ahead Eagles
Go Ahead Eagles have seen their league form slow down in recent weeks, and with little left to play for after guaranteeing a European spot with their cup glory, we see them sharing the points with a resurgent PEC Zwolle side who can climb up through the bottom half of the Eredivisie table.
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