Highlighted: Who will become the hero of the IJssel Derby?

Two seasons ago, it seemed for a long time that the two teams would share points in the Eredivisie for the first time since May 1987. However, a goal by Philippe Rommens in the 93rd minute allowed Go Ahead Eagles to walk away with all three points.

Where Rommens would finish that season with just two goals and also scored only three goals in the league for his team last season, the Belgian has already reached that number after just three games this time around. He scored in each of his first three matches of the new season, a feat last achieved by Cees van Kooten (who later played for Zwolle) in 1977/78. If Rommens scores again, he will become the first Go Ahead player to score a goal in each of his first four Eredivisie matches of the season. The last player to score in four consecutive Eredivisie matches for the team from Deventer was Harry Decheiver in 1995 (7). The Belgian has been involved in four of Go Ahead's eight goals this season and hopes to be the hero again on Sunday afternoon.

In the last matchday, Apostolos Vellios was the celebrated man for PEC Zwolle, as the Greek striker headed in the winning goal in the 97th minute. Perhaps he can once again decide the game in spectacular fashion on Sunday. However, someone who knows what it's like to play against Go Ahead and score in the Eredivisie is Zwolle veteran Bram van Polen. In 2017, the defender sealed the match with a successful penalty kick, marking the last goal for PEC against Go Ahead until that point. Van Polen could play his eighth IJssel Derby at the highest level, but five PEC players have done so more frequently. In any case, several players at Zwolle are familiar with playing in this derby: Ryan Thomas (6), Thomas Lam (2), Eliano Reijnders (2), Sam Kersten (1), and Dean Huiberts (1) have all previously played against Go Ahead Eagles in the Eredivisie.