NEC vs. Telstar - prediction, team news, lineups

Fresh disconnected a uncommon nonaccomplishment to find the backmost of the nett against Olympiacos during the week, NEC are backmost successful Eredivisie enactment against Telstar connected Saturday arsenic they statesman the 2026-27 top-flight play astatine Goffertstadion.

This weekend's brushwood marks Dick Schreuder's team's archetypal successful the contention since they secured their spot among Europe's elite for the archetypal time, and they purpose to commencement this twelvemonth positively against opponents who survived connected the last time of the 2025-26 season.

Match preview

Tuesday saw NEC interruption caller crushed arsenic they played Champions League shot — albeit successful the preliminary circular — for the archetypal time, notching a creditable gully distant astatine Olympiacos.

While the goalless brushwood marked a uncommon 2nd clip successful 28 matches successful 2026 that the Nijmegen outfit person failed to score, they instrumentality to location comforts connected Saturday alert of their awesome grounds successful beforehand of extremity successful 2025-26.

Only champions PSV Eindhoven with 101 goals outscored Dick Schreuder's men, with the third-placed side's 77 being 7 much than runners-up Feyenoord astatine the season's culmination.

That should excite supporters who could extremity August celebrating advancement to the Champions League due astatine their archetypal effort — if they bushed Olympiacos and beforehand successful the playoff circular — though eagle-eyed observers volition constituent to the team's caller inability to people arsenic thing to interest about.

Indeed, portion NEC person scored successful 26 of 28 games this year, those 2 blanks person travel successful the past three, suggesting a dip up of the caller play for a broadside who won conscionable 2 of their 7 matches successful the off-season and mislaid four.

As such, Telstar volition anticipation that the ongoing blip extends into Saturday arsenic the Nijmegen hosts look to statesman the run connected a bully note, with the distant broadside present operating nether caller brag Henk Brugge.

Anthony Correira guided the nine to information connected the last day, successfully steering the club's archetypal Eredivisie quality successful 48 years to decorativeness 14th successful the last array and 5 points wide of Volendam successful the playoff position.

Volendam yet failed to bushed the driblet successful the playoffs, but long-time followers of Telstar could person been the ones having to woody with that eventuality had they suffered a nonaccomplishment connected the concluding gameweek of the erstwhile season.

Correira has since moved connected to FC Utrecht, and Henk Brugge is present tasked with preserving the White Lions' top-flight presumption for different year.

Their pre-season form, though, has been mixed, with a chaotic 6-3 triumph implicit De Graafschap an evident outlier sandwiched by constrictive losses to Almere City (2-1), Sparta Rotterdam (1-0) and Wolfsburg.

Now, they anticipation to enactment that tally of results down them to transportation connected the signifier that saw them accrue 10 points from a imaginable 12 to adjacent retired the erstwhile campaign.

NEC signifier (all competitions):

Telstar friendlies form:

Team News

Perr Schuurs has not played competitory shot of immoderate benignant since October 2023 owed to a superior genu injury, and helium joined NEC successful June aft his merchandise from Torino; however, the centre-back has yet to play for the Dutch broadside since his summertime transfer.

Debuts could beryllium handed to Dusan Tadic, Salzburg loanee Clement Bischoff, Emre Mor and Kaj Sierhuis, the second of whom scored 12 league goals for Fortuna Sittard past season.

While Bryan Linssen and Tjaronn Chery could not people successful Tuesday's gully astatine Olympiacos, the 2 players liable for 22 of NEC's 77 goals successful 2025-26 should play from the disconnected this weekend.

It remains to beryllium seen if past season's eight-goal Eredivisie guardant Koki Ogawa returns pursuing his exclusion from the Champions League squad for the travel to Piraeus.

Telstar person a surfeit of additions to the squad, with Gabi Caschili, Harrie Kuster, Fabiano Rust and Rui Mendes transferring from Cambuur, Twente, Feyenoord and Groningen respectively.

Having joined the nine successful February connected indebtedness from Ajax, Gerald Alders has returned to De Witte Leeuwen for the season, portion Abdelnor Soualhia, Sem van Duijn, Cedric Hatenboer and Nigel Nwankwo person temporarily moved to the North Holland nine from AZ Alkmaar, AZ, Anderlecht and FC Utrecht respectively.

Patrick Brouwer and Jeff Hardeveld some had 13 extremity contributions successful 2025-26 and should commencement astatine near helping and near wing-back connected Saturday.

NEC imaginable starting lineup:

Crettaz; Pereira, Sandler, Fonville; Ouaissa, Sano, Nejasmic, Willumsson; Chery, Lebreton; Linssen

Telstar imaginable starting lineup:

Koeman Jr; Alders, Peersman, Nwankwo; Seedorf, Soualhia, Rossen, Hardeveld; Mendes, Tejan, Brouwer

We say: NEC 2-1 Telstar

Despite their caller inability to people arsenic often arsenic they usually do, backing NEC remains a just bet, adjacent though their emblematic attack to having unfastened games gives Telstar a accidental of scoring.

Nonetheless, acold excessively overmuch has changed astatine Telstar, who ought to get connected the scoresheet this play but are apt to endure an opening nonaccomplishment successful Nijmegen.

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