The standalone fixture on Friday night in the Eredivisie will see NEC Nijmegen make the trip to face a struggling Almere City at Yanmar Stadion.
The hosts enter gameweek 10 of the campaign second-bottom in the league standings with three points, while the visitors are in 12th place with 10 points.
Match preview
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After successfully navigating their first-ever campaign in the Eredivisie last term, Almere City look likely to head back down a division this season unless they can find major improvement.
Nine games into the top-flight season and De Zwarte Schapen are yet to win a league match, with their three points to date coming by way of draws against Groningen, Heracles and most recently Sparta Rotterdam over the weekend.
While Hedwiges Maduro would likely have been somewhat disappointed that his side were unable to beat De Kasteelheren last time out having held a two-goal lead in the first 10 minutes, the result did at least bring an end to their four-match goalless run since August 15.
Still, it is tough to find many positives in the hosts' performances this season, as they have already shipped 21 goals to date, which is the second-most in the division behind basement club RKC Waalwijk, while they have only scored four themselves - the fewest of any side in the top flight this term.
When these two sides last met, NEC secured a commanding 4-1 victory at this venue back in May, which was a result that extended Almere's winless run against this opponent to four matches across all competitions (W0 D1 L3) dating back to mid-2021.
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Meanwhile, NEC enjoyed a sensational 2023-24 season, securing their second-best finish in an Eredivisie season of sixth place, though they have yet to find that type of form this term.
Eniesee have posted a record of three wins, one draw and five losses in their first nine league games, and were unable to manage a single victory in between the last two international breaks, losing three and drawing one of the four games in that period.
However, Rogier Meijer's side returned from the October break with an impressive 3-0 home win against Heerenveen on Saturday, which moved them out of the bottom three with all of Groningen, Heracles and PEC Zwolle suffering defeats over the weekend.
The visitors will now look to build on that result and improve their away record, which currently reads as three losses and one win in four this season, with the side failing to score in any of the defeats during that time.
Team News
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Almere City have just one potential absentee for this weekend's match in the form of defender James Lawrence, who is currently struggling with a muscle injury and is flagged as a major doubt.
French forward Thomas Robinet opened his account for the season last weekend in his eighth appearance of the campaign, and he will likely lead the line in this one alongside compatriot Logan Delaurier-Chaubet.
NEC, on the other hand, are set to be without at least two first-team players for this trip to Almere, with Dirk Proper and Philippe Sandler ruled out due to a shoulder and foot injury respectively.
In just his second start for Eniesee, Vito van Crooij netted a brace for his new employers last weekend and should keep his spot in the number 10 role behind frontman Koki Ogawa.
Almere City possible starting lineup:
Bakker; Akujobi, Visus, Barbet, Zagaritis; Haye, Tahiri; Kadile; Van de Kamp, Delaurier-Chaubet; Robinet
NEC possible starting lineup:
Roefs; Pereira, Marquez, Nuytinck, Ouwejan; Hoedemakers, Sano; Onal, Ouaissa, Van Crooij, Ogawa
We say: Almere City 1-2 NEC
Almere City have been very poor this season and come into this match having only earned a single point in five home games this term, scoring just twice while conceding 15 goals over that period.
While NEC have not been at their best either in this campaign, that solid victory against Heerenveen last week would have done their confidence a world of good, and we feel they will follow up on that result with another victory in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
