Gameweek seven in the 2024-25 Eredivisie season will see NEC Nijmegen facing off against stuttering Dutch giants Feyenoord at Goffertstadion on Saturday evening.
Both sides are in need of all three points here, albeit for different reasons, with the hosts looking to pull away from the drop while the visitors are trying to keep pace with the league leaders.
Match preview
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After a sensational 2023-24 league season, which saw them miss out on a spot in Europe by just three points, NEC have failed to follow up this term and could find themselves in the bottom three by the end of this weekend.
Eniesee have taken six points in as many games this season, making them one of four sides currently tied on that total, just two points ahead of PEC Zwolle, who currently occupy the relegation playoff spot.
Notably, Rogier Meijer's side's points came by way of back-to-back wins over Zwolle and Fortuna Sittard, though both of those sides are currently are below them and firmly in the relegation scrap.
That victory against Blauwvingers was also the only one NEC have posted on home soil in their last seven league matches at the venue, dating back to that famous 3-1 win over PSV last term, which denied the Farmers an unbeaten record for the season.
While their form this season already suggests that this upcoming fixture is going to be a tough task for NEC, their historic record only emphasises that, with the side failing to win any of their last nine matches against their upcoming opponent.
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Meanwhile, after pushing PSV all the way to the final few weeks of last season, Feyenoord already have a fair bit of work to do if they are to remain in title contention again this term.
After five games, the Pride of South are still unbeaten, but three draws during that time sees them trailing the Red and Whites by nine points, though they do have a game in hand on the sides above them.
De Stadionclub picked up a much-needed 2-0 win last weekend over NAC Breda, halting a three-match winless run across all competitions, which included back-to-back league draws against Sparta Rotterdam and Groningen, before losing 4-0 to Bayer Leverkusen in their first match of the Champions League season.
Arguably, the biggest concern for new boss Brian Priske will be the relatively poor defensive performances from his team this season, as they have dropped points from winning positions twice already, including squandering a two-goal lead against Groningen in gameweek four.
Still, having beaten this opponent 3-2 at this venue last season, and remaining unbeaten against them since 2015, the visitors will feel that this should be a match in which they take the full three points, though given their own performances this term, it will not be straightforward.
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Team News
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Robin Roefs started the first two matches of the season in goal for NEC, but he sustained an injury against Fortuna Sittard and has now missed four in a row, which has seen Stijn van Gassel resume duty between the sticks.
Aside from Roefs, the hosts will also be without the services of Philippe Sandler and Yvandro Borges Sanches for this match due to injury, while Kodai Sano is still suspended after being sent off against PSV.
Feyenoord, on the other hand, were dealt a significant injury blow against Breda last time out, with Mexican international Santiago Gimenez picking up an injury which has now ruled him out for the next three months, as confirmed by the club.
Gimenez will join a fairly lengthy casualty list, which includes the likes of Bart Nieuwkoop (knock), Calvin Stengs (knee), Quilindschy Hartman (knee) and Hugo Bueno, though the latter reportedly returned to light training last week.
NEC possible starting lineup:
Van Gassel; Pereira, Marquez, Nuytinck, Verdonk; Hoedemakers, Proper; Onal, Gonzalez, Hansen; Ogawa
Feyenoord possible starting lineup:
Wellenreuther; Lotomba, Beelen, Hancko, Smal; Milambo, Hwang, Timber; Osman, Ueda, Paixao
We say: NEC 1-1 Feyenoord
While Feyenoord enter this match as the favourites, they have not been at their best this season and are also missing a few key players, perhaps none more so than Santiago Gimenez, who is likely to miss the remainder of the calendar year.
In addition, the Pride of South are also likely to have one eye on their midweek trip to Spain to face Girona in a crucial Champions League fixture, which could force Brian Priske to err on the side of caution in his selection this week. For those reasons, we feel that NEC could sneak a result in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
