Injury-Hit Utrecht Face Strong-Starting Zwolle in Early Eredivisie Clash
In an early Eredivisie season fixture, Zwolle will host Utrecht. While Utrecht has had a strong start to the campaign, they are grappling with numerous key player injuries, a factor Zwolle will look to exploit at their home ground to continue their surprisingly good form.
Match Background & Qualification Scenarios
This match is a significant early-season encounter in the 2025-2026 Eredivisie campaign. The new season kicked off in early August, with teams striving to establish a strong foundation. Zwolle concluded last season with a commendable 10th-place finish. Historically, Utrecht holds a superior record against Zwolle in the Eredivisie, having won 23 out of 49 encounters, compared to Zwolle's 9 wins. Although Utrecht is winless in their last three matches against Zwolle (two losses, one draw), Zwolle has managed only one victory in their last ten league meetings against Utrecht. Notably, Utrecht has often found the net in this fixture, scoring three or more goals in six of those ten games. This match will be crucial for both sides as they aim to solidify their positions in the early league standings. [8]
Recent Form
Zwolle has had an impressive start to the new season. In their three Eredivisie matches so far, they have secured two wins and one loss, including a 1-0 victory over Twente and a 4-1 triumph against Fortuna Sittard, with their sole defeat being a 2-1 loss to Feyenoord [18]. At home, Zwolle has won their only home game played so far this season [16, 21]. Utrecht has also shown good momentum, recording three wins and one loss in their first four Eredivisie outings, which includes a convincing 4-1 win over Excelsior, though they did suffer a 1-2 defeat to Sparta Rotterdam [18, 22, 20].
Key Players & Injury News
For Zwolle, defensive stalwart Simon Graves is a key figure, having shown outstanding defensive statistics last season. Midfielder Jamiro Monteiro and forward Koen Kostons are also expected to be influential players [27, 9]. However, Zwolle faces a challenge in goal, as first-choice goalkeeper Jasper Schendelaar is sidelined with a knee injury, which will force loanee Tom de Graaff to make his Eredivisie debut. Additionally, Odysseus Velanas is out with an ankle injury [8, 39, 17].
Utrecht's injury list is significantly more extensive. Key midfielder Victor Jensen will be out for at least six weeks due to a hamstring injury, a major blow given his impressive eight goals in the first eight matches of the season [38]. Other significant absentees include Vasilios Barkas (hamstring), Dani de Wit (foot), Mike Eerdhuijzen (undisclosed), David Min (concussion), Ivar Jenner (undisclosed), Rafik El Arguioui (knee), and Zidane Iqbal (knee) [5, 19, 23]. This lengthy injury list will severely test Utrecht coach Ron Jans' tactical flexibility. Midfield linchpins Paxten Aaronson and Jens Toornstra will be crucial in creating scoring opportunities in their absence [18].