Two sides in search of their first points of the 2023-24 Eredivisie season will clash this week when Heracles welcome NEC Nijmegen to Erve Asito for a standalone Friday night league encounter.

Both sides come into this match after conceding four goals each in their first match of the season, with the hosts suffering a 4-1 thumping by Ajax while the visitors came out on the wrong side of a 4-3 scoreline against Excelsior.

Match preview

Following relegation in the 2021-22 season, Heracles bounced back to the top flight at the first time of asking by winning the Eerste Divisie title last season, narrowly edging out PEC Zwolle on goal difference.

Over the course of the season, John Lammers's side managed a tally of 85 points with a record of 27 wins, four draws and seven losses, scoring 103 goals and conceding just 43 in their 38 matches.

After Mario Engels gave his side the lead last week against Ajax, it was looking promising for the hosts, but they were only able to hold on to the lead for less than three minutes before Jakov Medic levelled proceedings, and it was all downhill from there.

Heracles were bombarded in the second half, managing just 29% possession and seven attempts at goal, while their opponents fired an incredible 31 attempts with 13 on target across the 90 minutes.

The hosts have failed to beat this opponent in their last five attempts in all competitions, losing on four occasions and winning one, yet with the home-field advantage, they come into this match as the bookmaker's marginal favourite.

Meanwhile, NEC Nijmegen come into this fixture following a seven-goal thriller against Excelsior, where they squandered the lead on two occasions and were eventually denied a point by a stoppage-time goal from Oscar Uddenas.

With that loss, the visitors have now failed to win any of their last five Eredivisie matches on either side of the summer break, losing four of those fixtures while managing a solitary 1-1 draw against Fortuna Sittard on the final day of the last campaign.

While losing their opening match of the season to a side that ended the last campaign just one spot above the dotted line is far from ideal, the positive for Rogier Meijer would have been seeing three of his first-team players get on the scoresheet, including his new summer arrival Koki Ogawa.

All things considered, NEC did fairly well last season in their second consecutive term in the top flight, as they secured a 12th-placed finish with 39 points in their 34 matches and were never in any real danger of being relegated throughout the season.

Despite going into the match as the outsiders, NEC's record against this opponent cannot be overlooked, and they will be quietly confident in their chances of upsetting the odds and securing their first points of the season in this one.

Team News

Lammers has only one injury absentee to contend with for the upcoming match, with Nikolai Laursen still sidelined with a knee injury and only expected to return in mid-September.

Former Tokyo Verde forward Engels's goal on debut last week against Ajax should have been enough to secure his place in the starting 11 behind fellow new arrival Jizz Hornkamp in the number nine role.

Ojawa's goal on his league debut will likely mean that he will retain his spot as the sole striker, with Sontje Hansen and Magnus Mattsson providing support from the midfield.

Ajax loanee Youri Baas also marked his league debut with a goal against Excelsior, and he should continue on the left flank with fellow new arrival Lars Olden Larsen, who played the full 90 minutes in the last match.

Dirk Proper was shown a straight red in the penultimate match of last season and will serve the second of his three-match ban in this one.

Heracles possible starting lineup:
Brouwer; Bakboord, Sonnenberg, Hoogma, Willems; De Keersmaecker, Ouahim, Hansson, Limbombe, Nankishi; Hornkamp

NEC possible starting lineup:
Cillessen; Van Rooij, Verdonk, Nuytinck, Baas; Hoedemakers, Schone, Hansen, Larsen, Mattsson; Ogawa

We say: Heracles 1-2 NEC

While both sides suffered hefty defeats last week, the visitors looked much more fluid in attack, which we expect to see again here against newly-promoted opposition. With both defences failing to impress so far this campaign, we expect both teams to get on the scoresheet but fancy NEC to come away with the victory.

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

Written by
Devesh Jaganath

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