NEC vs Telstar - prediction, team news, lineups

In a crippled with value astatine some ends of the Eredivisie table, an out-of-sorts NEC big Telstar astatine Stadion de Goffert connected Saturday evening.

The hosts person struggled successful caller weeks and request to instrumentality to winning ways to fortify their Champions League bid, portion the visitors are battling to flight the bottommost three.

Match preview

On people for a first-ever top-three finish, NEC person enjoyed a superb campaign, but the last agelong of 2025-26 is threatening to dampen what has mostly been a jubilant temper successful Nijmegen.

Dick Schreuder’s men were precocious thrashed 5-1 by AZ Alkmaar successful the KNVB Beker final, denying them a maiden cupful title, and they person present drawn some of their league games connected either broadside of the April 19 fearfulness amusement aft a 1-1 stalemate against Twente past clip out.

Dropped points successful consecutive Eredivisie outings person opened the doorway for Ajax and Twente to adjacent in, with the Eniesee present astatine hazard of slipping to 5th should they neglect to triumph their upcoming affair.

NEC are winless successful their past 3 meetings with Telstar, though this weekend's clash is lone the 2nd top-flight brushwood betwixt the teams since 1978, aft a 2-2 gully successful December’s reverse fixture.

Saturday's hosts person lone gone 4 matches without a triumph erstwhile this term, and a instrumentality to location turf—where they mean 2.5 goals per league game—after a three-week lack could beryllium conscionable what is needed to get backmost connected track.

Back among the Dutch elite aft astir 50 years away, Telstar person understandably recovered the measurement up challenging, with their Eredivisie presumption inactive hanging successful the equilibrium heading into the last 3 matches.

Anthony Correia’s men produced arguably their astir awesome triumph of the run with a 4-1 demolition of Sparta Rotterdam connected Wednesday, marking lone their seventh league triumph - 4 of which person travel since the crook of the year.

Now 5 points wide of Breda, De Witte Leeuwen are each but definite to debar automatic demotion to the Eerste Divisie, but sitting 16th means they indispensable inactive navigate the relegation/promotion play-offs to unafraid top-flight survival.

However, Telstar could debar the play-offs by overtaking Volendam, who are conscionable 1 constituent up successful 15th. The 2 sides are acceptable to conscionable successful their play finale astatine the Kras Stadion connected May 17.

Nevertheless, Saturday’s visitors indispensable enactment wrong scope of their relegation rivals to person immoderate accidental of leapfrogging them, underlining the value of claiming each 3 points astatine a venue wherever they person ne'er antecedently won.

Facing a broadside with the astir second-half goals successful the division, Telstar volition request to beryllium astatine their champion aft the break, a play successful which they person conceded 30 of their 53 goals this season.

NEC Eredivisie form:

NEC signifier (all competitions):

Telstar Eredivisie form:

Team News

Freek Entius and Basar Onal some stay sidelined for NEC owed to genu injuries, with the erstwhile absent since September.

However, Ahmetcan Kaplan is backmost successful contention aft serving a one-game suspension past clip out.

Now up to 12 goals crossed each competitions, Bryan Linssen is enjoying his astir prolific play since 2021-22 and volition look to adhd to his tally.

Adil Lechkar has missed Telstar’s past 9 matches with a genu wounded and is improbable to instrumentality this season, portion Dion Malone remains retired since the March planetary break.

Twenty-year-old Gerald Alders is simply a large uncertainty for the visitors owed to a caput injury.

Sem van Duijn is 1 to watch, having recorded 4 goals and 2 assists successful 11 indebtedness appearances since joining from Jong AZ.

NEC imaginable starting lineup:

Crettaz; Kaplan, Nuytinck, Dasa; Sano, Nejasmic, Sandler, Lebreton; Ouaissa; Chery, Linssen

Telstar imaginable starting lineup:

Koeman; Nwankwo, Koswal, Bakker; Noslin, Offerhaus, Hatenboer, Hardeveld; Owusu, Brouwer, Van Duijn

We say: NEC 3-1 Telstar

NEC person struggled for consistency successful caller matches, but bully teams often amusement an quality to bounce backmost from a dip successful form.

We expect the hosts to marque comparatively airy enactment of Telstar and fortify their grip connected 3rd place.

For information investigation of the astir apt results, scorelines and much for this lucifer delight click here.