Matchday 29 in the Eredivisie kicks off with a crucial bottom-half clash at Goffertstadion on Friday night when NEC play host to RKC Waalwijk.
With just 11 points separating the bottom six teams in the league standings, a victory for either side in this match could be crucial in the race to avoid the drop.
Match preview
© Imago
After a sensational 2023-24 season in which they narrowly missed out on European qualification - falling just two points short - NEC would have entered the current campaign with high hopes.
However, the reality has been a stark contrast - with just 30 points to their name and six games left to play, the Nijmegen side find themselves firmly in the lower half of the table and just six points above the relegation playoff spot.
Rogier Meijer's side earned a gritty against-the-odds victory over FC Utrecht and followed up with a dramatic comeback to snatch a point against AZ either side of the international break, which hinted at a possible late-season revival.
Unfortunately, NEC were brought crashing back down to earth last weekend when they suffered a 2-0 away defeat to Sparta Rotterdam, who also leapfrogged them into 12th place in the league standings.
The hosts will now return to Goffertstadion, where they have been tough to beat, drawing four and winning one of their last six matches (L1), while having also made a bit of a habit of scoring late goals, netting in the final 20 minutes in each of their last six games at this venue.
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Meanwhile, after flirting with relegation last season, RKC Waalwijk are now in deep trouble this term, currently on just 19 points and rapidly running out of time to pull themselves to safety.
After picking up 10 points between the end of January and early February, things have taken a major downturn for RKC, as they are now winless in their last six league games following their goalless draw at home to Heracles last week.
Notably, that result also marked the fourth time in the last six games that Henk Fraser's side failed to find the back of the net, which is a major drop-off after scoring 14 goals in the six matches prior.
While three points will be massive for the visitors this week, their away form this season does not inspire much confidence in their chances, as they have only won one of their 14 away games to date and have yet to keep a clean sheet on their travels.
Team News
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The defeat to Sparta last week came at some cost to NEC, with Vito van Crooij being sent off midway through the second half, meaning he will have to sit this one out through suspension.
The hosts will also have to make do without Koki Ogawa (hamstring), Kas De Wit (knock) and Ivan Marquez (groin), all of whom are unlikely to return to first team action this season.
RKC will be missing at least four players this weekend due to injury, including Yannick Van Osch, Dario Van Den Buijs, and midfield duo Daouda Weidmann and Roshon van Eijma.
Luuk Wouters has sat out for the last four games owing to an unspecified issue and is flagged as a doubt. On a positive note for the visitors, Denilho Cleonise got some more minutes under his belt last week and could be in contention to start this match.
NEC possible starting lineup:
Roefs; Lyratzis, Sandler, Nuytinck, Verdonk; Proper, Sano; Hansen, Darelas, Ouwejan; Linssen
RKC Waalwijk possible starting lineup:
Houwen; Al Mazyani, Lelieveld, Van Gelderen, Felida; Van de Loo, Oukili, Familia-Castillo, Ihattaren; Margaret, Zawada
We say: NEC 2-2 RKC Waalwijk
While NEC have been difficult to beat on their home patch, they have struggled to turn one point into three and have been leaky defensively, conceding two or more goals in each of their last four at Goffertstadion.
RKC have been very poor this season, but they have taken something from three of their last five matches on the road, and we feel they may be able to earn a share of the spoils in this one as well.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
