Two of the Eredivisie's newly promoted sides go head-to-head on Sunday as Willem II face Cambuur at the Koning Willem II Stadion in gameweek 10 of the 2026-27 season.

After both sides made shaky starts, the visitors have since found their footing, while the hosts remain in search of a first league victory.

Match preview

The feeling of desolation at the sound of the final whistle is becoming an all-too-familiar story for Willem II, who let a lead slip for the second game running in Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Sparta Rotterdam, where Tonny Vilhena’s opener and Uriel van Aalst’s strike counted for nought.

That proved to be one defeat too many for John Stegeman, who became the second managerial casualty of the current campaign.

Adrie Koster returns as interim boss, having previously managed the club from July 2018 to January 2021 and in an earlier spell between July 1990 and June 1991.

Given his last stint ended winless in the final 10 matches (L8, D2), there is understandable pessimism among the Willem II faithful despite the interim nature of Koster’s appointment, and the 71-year-old will be desperate to make a positive start.

Winless against Cambuur in the last seven meetings dating back to the last time when both teams were in the top flight before their recent promotion, De Superkruiken have been on the receiving end in this fixture more often than not of late, with no wins since 2015.

A league-high 26 goals conceded and a league-low nine scored leave Saturday’s hosts with plenty of work to do at both ends of the pitch if they are to turn their season around. However, as seen on several occasions, a change in the dugout could be just what the doctor ordered.

Like Willem II, Cambuur initially found the step up to the top flight daunting, failing to win any of their opening five matches before finally getting off the mark with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over NEC in their penultimate match leading up to the international break.

Johan Plat’s side have since followed that up with a 1-0 win over PEC Zwolle, sandwiched between draws with ADO Den Haag and, most recently, AZ Alkmaar despite playing most of the second half a man down after Devid Bouah’s red card.

The Yellow-Blues are now one of just three teams - alongside Ajax and early pacesetters Feyenoord - unbeaten in the last five league matches, collecting nine points from a possible 15, while only the league leaders have conceded fewer goals in that span.

A key factor in Cambuur’s resurgence has been their fast starts, scoring the opening goal in each of their last five matches. They will look to exploit this trend against a Willem II side that have conceded first in five of their last six outings.

With matches against Kloetinge and Go Ahead Eagles rounding off their October schedule, Saturday’s visitors have a strong opportunity to finish the month on a high before facing reigning champions PSV Eindhoven to start November.

Willem II Eredivisie form:

Cambuur Eredivisie form:

Team News

Amine Lachkar (groin) and Justin Hoogma (knee) are both sidelined for Willem II, with the former yet to play since last July.

Goalkeepers Thomas Didillon and Wouter van der Steen are both unavailable, meaning Maxime Delanghe is set to continue in goal.

Armin Culum (foot) completes the hosts’ absentees, with Kasper Boogaard returning to the bench last time out.

Jamal Amofa is out for the season with a cruciate ligament injury, while Daan Visser is stepping up his recovery from a similar problem.

Wout Asselman remains unfit for selection due to injury, while 25-year-old Italian Devid Bouah will serve a suspension.

Willem II possible starting lineup:

Delanghe; Ter Avest, Stam, Dekker, Tjoe-A-On; Zarrouk, Vilhena; Slory, Van Aalst, Van Crooy; Haen

Cambuur possible starting lineup:

Jansen; Costarelli, Van Duijl, Baouf, Berkhout; Souren, Maertens; Hamache, El Arguioui, Ceka; Binder

We say: Willem II 1-2 Cambuur

Cambuur have the edge heading into Saturday’s clash, where a defeat would leave Willem II in deeper danger of an immediate return to the Eerste Divisie.

The hosts’ average of a goal per game is likely to continue, but their defensive frailties mean they are tipped to come away empty-handed again.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.