The 2026/27 Eredivisie season opens with PEC Zwolle hosting Ajax at the MAC3PARK Stadion on Sunday 9 August, with kick off at 13:30 local time. Ajax arrive needing more than just three points: a fifth place finish in 2025/26 was a poor result for a club of their standing and Míchel, appointed on a two year deal in June after the club's underwhelming campaign, takes charge of his first competitive match having been brought in explicitly to close that gap on the title. Zwolle, meanwhile, finished fifteenth last season and only avoided the relegation play offs narrowly, so Henry van der Vegt's side will be targeting a home performance that buys some early belief in their mid table ambitions.
Van der Vegt took charge at Zwolle in July 2025 on a contract running to June 2027, while Míchel only began his Ajax tenure in June 2026, making this the first competitive meeting between the two coaches with no head to head record to draw from.
There is no competitive form to speak of ahead of a season opener, which always makes predictions tentative. Ajax's 2025/26 campaign was inconsistent enough to leave them fifth and while Míchel was brought in to change that, this is his first competitive match with the club. Zwolle had a mixed pre season and Ajax are heavy favourites in the market with win probabilities quoted above 55 percent.
Zwolle are without Younes Namli through injury while Ajax miss defender Ahmetcan Kaplan, though no suspensions affect either side. Zwolle are expected to line up in a compact 4-2-3-1 with Jasper Schendelaar in goal behind a back four including Sherel Floranus, Nick Viergever and Anass Aertssen and Koen Kostons leading the line. Ajax should field a strong side with either Maarten Paes or Marc-Andre ter Stegen in goal, Josip Sutalo, Owen Wijndal and Anton Gaaei in defence and Youri Regeer, Julian Brandt and Mika Godts further forward. The gap in squad depth between the two sides is substantial.
Zwolle will sit compact and look to hurt Ajax on the counter or from set pieces, the logical approach for a side that is not going to win a possession battle. Míchel's Ajax will look to press high and dominate the ball throughout, with Brandt's movement between the lines and Godts' direct running likely to give Zwolle's flat back four problems in transition, while Kostons may spend most of the afternoon isolated against Sutalo and Baas as the hosts sit deep.
Ajax hold a dominant record across roughly 30 previous meetings with Zwolle, winning the large majority and seeing over 2.5 goals in most of them. Set pieces are Zwolle's most realistic route to goal, with Floranus and Viergever offering aerial presence at corners. Ajax have the technical quality to do damage in open play if the press clicks early and while there is nothing riding on this particular fixture beyond early season positioning, Míchel will be keen to make an impression, given that his appointment came with scrutiny after the club's fifth place finish.
Ajax to win 0-2, with Brandt's movement between the lines and Godts' direct running likely to cause Zwolle's back four real problems throughout. A clean sheet looks realistic given Ajax's pressing intensity and Zwolle's pre season defensive record and a 0-2 away win fits the historical pattern of Ajax controlling this fixture.
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?.
