FC Twente vs PEC Zwolle – News and Probable Lineups

FC Twente and PEC Zwolle are set to clash at De Grolsch Veste on matchday two, both looking to bounce back from their opening losses in the Eredivisie.

Twente suffered a 1-0 defeat to Heerenveen, while PEC endured two late goals against Ajax after nearly completing the first half with a player down, as they seek a response this Sunday.

Match overview

Twente has certainly had a mixed start to the season; they have progressed to the play-off round in the Conference League, yet disappointment lingers from their defeat against Ferencvaros, which denied them the chance of Europa League qualification.

Facing an uphill battle following a home defeat to the Hungarian team, they struggled significantly against ten men in the return fixture, resulting in a drop to the third level of European competition.

Entering this fixture against PEC, John van den Brom’s squad has managed only one victory in five competitive outings at the start of the 2026-27 season, which was a 6-0 rout over DAC 1904 prior to their Eredivisie opener against Heerenveen.

The 1-0 loss means the Reds have achieved just a single victory in their past five Eredivisie matches dating back to the previous season — a 4-0 win against Sparta Rotterdam — with the last two matches before and after the summer break seeing them concede six and net just one.

History shows that Twente has five victories out of ten against their upcoming rival, yet they have not won this encounter in the past two years, with most recent games ending in draws.

PEC Zwolle will be mindful of this record, particularly since their solitary victory against Twente since May 2024 was secured in Zwolle last season, when Blauwvingers triumphed 1-0.

The away supporters will be hoping for a second win in three meetings, but they may prefer to look away when considering past results in Enschede: according to Transfer market, PEC has never claimed a victory against Twente away in regular time in history, which emphasizes the difficulty of their challenge.

PEC’s only triumph came during the domestic cup semi-final in 2015, albeit through a penalty shootout as they advanced to consecutive finals in the KNVB Cup.

Henry van der Vegt will lead his team to Enschede, aiming to become the first manager in history to secure a win over the Pride of the East on their home ground.

A significant improvement is required following a lackluster opening-day defeat to Ajax, further complicated by Sherel Floranus’s sending-off in the 57th minute, which left Blauwvingers in a difficult situation for the remaining thirty minutes — marking their sixth loss in the last seven matches.

Team News

Mees Hilgers’s knee issue is expected to keep him sidelined for Sunday, while Stav Lemkin’s fitness will be evaluated prior to the second matchday.

Although Wout Weghorst did not score on matchday one, it is anticipated that the forward will maintain his position in Twente’s starting XI for the upcoming fixture.

Nonetheless, Marko Pjaca — who has three goals and two assists — and Sondre Orjasaeter — with four assists in five matches — enter this weekend’s match in considerably better form than the former Manchester United striker.

The visitors will be without the suspended Floranus due to his red card against Ajax, which will likely see Tijs Velthuis fill in at left-back.

Despite the disappointing results on opening day, Thijs Oosting and Koen Kostons remain Blauwvingers’ primary attacking threats for their trip to De Grolsch Veste.

FC Twente probable starting XI:

Unnerstall; Van Rooij, Bruns, Propper, Adelgaard; Zerrouki, Van den Belt; Pjaca, Rock, Orjasaeter; Weghorst

PEC Zwolle probable starting XI:

violator; Aertssen, Graves, Viergever, Velthuis; Mbayo, Thomas, Sommer, Cissoko; Kostons, Oosting

Despite Weghorst yet to find the back of the net for the Reds, the striking form of Pjaca and Orjasaeter could ultimately be decisive.

The visitors will be optimistic about their chances of securing a goal against a vulnerable Twente defence, but the Pride of the East has enough attacking prowess to potentially overcome their rivals.