PEC Zwolle host Feyenoord on 13 September 2026 in Eredivisie Round 6, with the gap between the sides already visible in the table. Feyenoord sit third with 11 points from five matches and a goal difference of plus six, whereas Zwolle are 13th with four points and minus four. The visitors arrive unbeaten, while Zwolle need results badly after a start that has left them closer to the bottom than the middle.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst returned to Feyenoord in June 2026 as Robin van Persie's replacement and his previous spell at the club was a successful one. His counterpart, Henry van der Vegt, took charge at Zwolle in July 2025 after Johnny Jansen's contract was not renewed and the two have barely crossed paths since.
Zwolle come into this with 1 win from their last five league matches, their last two outings producing a 2-2 draw with Sparta Rotterdam on 4 September and a 1-3 defeat at NEC Nijmegen the week before. They also lost 1-3 to Twente and opened the season with a 0-2 loss at Ajax, with a 2-0 win over Heerenveen on 22 August the one result worth keeping. Feyenoord, meanwhile, are three wins and two draws from five and unbeaten.
Van der Vegt is without three midfielders: Younes Namli (knee), Filip Krastev (Achilles) and Jan Bürger (knee), which depletes Zwolle's creative depth and hits them hardest in the positions where they would most need to disrupt Feyenoord's rhythm. Feyenoord have their own absentees, with Thomas Beelen, Bart Nieuwkoop, Gijs Smal, Jordan Bos and Jakub Moder all out through injury, forcing van Bronckhorst to reshuffle his defensive line. He still has enough quality in reserve to run his high pressing, possession based system, though.
Zwolle's plan is fairly predictable: stay organised, absorb pressure and try to hurt Feyenoord on the counter. Set pieces are their most reliable weapon, with Koen Kostons having scored three of Zwolle's six league goals this season and being dangerous from dead ball situations, making him the one player capable of troubling Feyenoord if given space in behind. Ibrahim Cissoko and Ryan Thomas provide some creativity in midfield but are unlikely to see much of the ball against a side that presses as aggressively as Feyenoord do.
Gjivai Zechiël has four goals already and is the kind of player who finds space between the lines before defenders have processed the pass. Luciano Valente (three goals) links play effectively in advanced areas and Anis Hadj Moussa operates wide on the other flank. Whether Zwolle's back line, already missing regulars, can handle Zechiël's movement centrally while also tracking runners wide is the real question and it is a lot to ask of a defensive unit stretched as thin as this one.
Feyenoord have dominated this fixture historically, winning around 21 or 22 of approximately 28 meetings compared with roughly five for Zwolle. The last time they met, in May 2026, Feyenoord won 2-0 away from home and the broader pattern has been just as one sided.
Zwolle will lean on set pieces as much as anything else here, with Kostons in the air and the delivery of Thomas and Cissoko offering their most reliable route to goal. Feyenoord's greater depth off the bench gives van Bronckhorst more options if the score is tight after an hour, which matters against a side that will be running on fumes defensively by that point.
Feyenoord to win 2-0. They are the better side across the pitch and with Namli, Krastev and Bürger all absent, Zwolle's midfield will tire as the match goes on. That is when Zechiël tends to find space and Zwolle do not have the cover to stop him.
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?.
