NEC vs SBV Excelsior - prediction, team news, lineups

NEC Nijmegen big Excelsior Rotterdam astatine the Goffertstadion successful Nijmegen connected Tuesday successful an Eredivisie fixture primitively pencilled successful for circular 3 of the season.

The lucifer was postponed from its archetypal day of Saturday, August 22 aft NEC precocious past Olympiakos successful Champions League qualifying, with the KNVB confirming successful beforehand that the rearranged fixture would autumn connected September 8 astatine 18:45 CEST if NEC mislaid their Champions League play-off and dropped into the Europa League, which is precisely what has happened.

Match preview

NEC person won 2 of their 4 Eredivisie matches truthful acold this season, and some wins person oddly travel connected the road.

Dick Schreuder's broadside mislaid 1-2 astatine location to Telstar connected the opening play earlier winning 4-1 distant astatine Willem II, past winning 3-1 distant astatine PEC Zwolle, and past losing 1-3 astatine location to Feyenoord connected September 5.

That leaves NEC winless successful some of their location Eredivisie matches this season, a funny blot connected a squad that has different looked crisp connected its travels.

Adam Tahaui scored connected his afloat debut successful the rout of Willem II, adding to goals from Tjaronn Chery, Bryan Linssen and Kaj Sierhuis.

The bigger communicative of NEC's period came successful Europe, wherever a 6-1 aggregate decision to Bodo/Glimt successful the Champions League play-off circular ended their hopes of a first-ever group-stage run successful the competition.

Goalkeeper Gonzalo Crettaz was shown a consecutive reddish paper wrong 3 minutes of the 2nd limb successful Norway, and NEC ne'er recovered, shipping 9 shots connected people crossed the tie.

That effect drops Schreuder's broadside into the Europa League league signifier instead, with a travel to Juventus' Allianz Stadium connected September 17 present looming 7 days aft this Excelsior fixture.

Darko Nejasmic offered a uncommon agleam spot against Feyenoord, marking his archetypal quality backmost from wounded with a good first-time volley to concisely level the scores astatine 1-1.

Excelsior person won 3 of their 4 Eredivisie matches nether Ruben den Uil, with their sole decision coming astatine location to champions PSV, to beryllium 4th successful the array heading into Nijmegen.

The Rotterdam nine opened the run with a 4-0 triumph distant astatine Cambuur, matching their joint-biggest distant triumph successful the club's history.

PSV past won 1-2 successful Rotterdam successful matchday two, with Casper Widell's reply for Excelsior sandwiched betwixt goals from Ruben van Bommel and Ricardo Pepi, the second of whom came connected arsenic a second-half substitute alongside erstwhile NEC midfielder Kodai Sano connected his PSV debut.

Excelsior person won each lucifer since, beating Sparta Rotterdam 2-1 astatine location earlier a comfy 3-0 triumph astatine Willem II connected September 5 that lifted them into 4th place.

David Garden scored wrong 8 minutes astatine Willem II, Rick Meissen doubled the pb earlier fractional clip with his archetypal elder goal, and Irakli Yegoian added a 3rd successful the 85th infinitesimal aft latching onto a agelong clearance from goalkeeper Stijn van Gassel.

Summer signing Alireza Jahanbakhsh, a erstwhile NEC winger among his erstwhile clubs, adds a furniture of know-your-opponent intrigue to his archetypal competitory instrumentality to Nijmegen successful Excelsior colours.

NEC Eredivisie form:

NEC signifier (all competitions):

SBV Excelsior Eredivisie form:

SBV Excelsior signifier (all competitions):

Team News

Nejasmic's goalscoring instrumentality from wounded against Feyenoord is the standout fittingness boost for Schreuder heading into this match, with the midfielder expected to support his place.

Sami Ouaissa, Ahmetcan Kaplan, Thomas Ouwejan and Yassin Moslih person each been sidelined by wounded successful caller weeks, thinning retired Schreuder's options successful defence and midfield.

For the visitors, Van Gassel, astatine 35 years aged the astir experienced subordinate successful Den Uil's squad, has started each 4 Eredivisie matches truthful acold and remains first-choice successful goal.

Garden and Yegoian person some scored successful Excelsior's past 2 matches and look acceptable to pb the enactment again connected Tuesday.

Meissen's archetypal elder extremity astatine Willem II gives Den Uil a genuine enactment headache successful a young squad that was already the second-youngest starting XI successful the part connected the opening weekend.

NEC imaginable starting lineup:

Crettaz; Pereira, Fonville, Storm; Nejasmic, Tadic, Lebreton, Bischoff; Chery; Linssen, Sierhuis 

SBV Excelsior imaginable starting lineup:

Van Gassel; Janssen, Plug, Widell, Meissen; Yegoian, Hartjes, Vianen; Timas, Sliti, Groen

We say: NEC 1-2 SBV Excelsior

NEC person won some of their Eredivisie distant matches this play but mislaid some astatine home, and a squad inactive shaking disconnected a chastening Champions League exit looks susceptible to an Excelsior broadside that has won 3 of its past 4 and arrives afloat of confidence.

NEC inactive clasp the head-to-head edge, winning 4 of the past 5 meetings betwixt the sides, but that grounds was built during Excelsior's hard 2025-26 relegation combat alternatively than against the mentation of the nine that has already beaten Cambuur, Sparta Rotterdam and Willem II this season.

Eight of the past 9 meetings betwixt these 2 sides person produced implicit 2.5 goals, and with some teams committed to attacking football, different unfastened contention astatine the Goffertstadion looks likely.

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