Ninth placed Groningen have eight points from six games, a mixed start that leaves them comfortably mid table without quite convincing anyone yet. Zwolle sit 16th on four points and are in trouble, having been hammered 7-0 at home by Feyenoord five days before this fixture. That result exposed a defence already weakened by injuries and summer departures and they arrive at the Euroborg with those problems intact.
Groningen's last five reads W-L-L-D-D: a 4-1 win over ADO Den Haag on 16 August, then a 1-5 thrashing at PSV and a 2-3 defeat to Fortuna Sittard, before back to back draws against Twente (2-2) and Go Ahead Eagles (1-1). Zwolle's run reads L-D-L-W-L, bookended by that 7-0 capitulation against Feyenoord.
Dick Lukkien and Henry van der Vegt haven't faced each other before, so there's no prior tactical history to read into here.
Lukkien has been at Groningen since July 2023 and has built a side that presses hard, with Hans Hateboer's return on a short term deal giving him a reliable option on the right who won't be rattled in a high press game. Rijk Janse is out with a cruciate knee injury and Ryan Metu remains a doubt.
Van der Vegt, in charge since July 2025, is working with considerably less. Sherel Floranus is out, Younes Namli is sidelined long term with a knee problem, Filip Krastev won't return until around November and Ryan Thomas is doubtful. On top of that, the departures of MacNulty, De Rooij and Buitink have stripped options across the squad. Van der Vegt is having to ask a lot of younger, less tested players to cover all of this and it's showing.
Groningen tend to operate around a 4-4-2 with full backs encouraged to get forward. Willumsson leads the attack while van Bergen drops into the space behind him and Hateboer's presence on the right gives Lukkien a more experienced option when playing out wide. Zwolle will need to defend deep, though maintaining any sort of defensive shape has already been a problem. With Kostons as their main attacking outlet, they'll look to exploit the space behind Groningen's advancing full backs if the chance arises, though keeping that organisation for 90 minutes with this depleted squad is a tall order.
Groningen lead the historical series with 11 wins from 26 meetings, their most recent encounter ending 1-1 in March 2026.
Groningen to win 2-1. Willumsson should be the one finishing and van Bergen the one creating, with supply coming from Groningen's advanced full backs. Kostons could nick one late on the counter if Groningen switch off, which their recent form suggests is possible but Zwolle winning or keeping a clean sheet five days after a 7-0 defeat seems unlikely.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
