Preview: Almere City vs Telstar - prediction, team news, lineups

With a quarter-final place on the line, Almere City and Telstar face off at the Yanmar Stadion in their KNVB Beker last-16 tie on Wednesday evening.

The hosts, buoyed by six consecutive wins, are seeking to build on their blistering form to advance further in the cup. On the other hand, the visitors will set out in search of a riposte after recently suffering their first defeat in five matches.

Match preview

Ending 2025 with two draws and two wins from their last four matches, Telstar entered the new year on a high. However, they left their 2026 opener empty-handed, falling 3-2 to Ajax at BUKO Stadion.

Anthony Correia's side played the final 37 minutes a man down, yet scored twice to set up a frenetic finish, following earlier goals from Oscar Gloukh, Mika Godts, and Youri Baas.

De Witte Leeuwen will approach their upcoming fixture against Almere with confidence, having not lost back-to-back matches since a three-game losing streak at the end of October. Following that run, the White Lions started their KNVB Beker campaign with a resounding 5-0 win over Lisse.

Telstar were equally as dominant in their next cup outing against Hoek, where they ran out 4-1 winners to make it nine goals from two matches, the fourth-most in the competition so far.

Despite going up against one of the remaining four lower-league sides in the last 16 of the Dutch Cup, Wednesday's visitors have a far from straightforward task on their hands.

Nonetheless, their recent record on the road should give them encouragement, as Telstar remain unbeaten in their last five away outings.

Aiming to bounce back from their relegation to the Eerste Divisie last time out, Almere City's primary objective for the 2025-26 campaign is to secure promotion back to the highest tier of Dutch football. After a challenging start, recent results have reignited their Eredivisie aspirations.

Jeroen Rijsdijk's men ended 2025 on a run of six victories on the bounce, the fifth of which came against Fortuna Sittard in the KNVB Beker round of 32, where Julian Rijkhoff and Olivier De Nijs netted in the final 15 minutes to turn the game on its head and secure a 3-2 triumph.

In stark contrast to their first cup assignment of the campaign against lower-league Sparta Nijkerk, De Zwarte Schapen were given a run for their money against top-flight opponents last time out and coming out on top will give them huge confidence.

Unbeaten in six of their last seven matches against Telstar, Almere City have a solid record in this fixture lately, though the upcoming clash will be the first between the teams in almost three years.

Recent editions of Wednesday's encounter have been low-scoring, with four of the last five yielding fewer than three goals.

This suggests another narrow contest is likely, and the hosts will look to tighten up at the back after going five matches without a clean sheet.

Almere City KNVB Beker form:

Almere City form (all competitions):

Telstar KNVB Beker form:

Telstar form (all competitions):

Team News

Twenty-year-old Bas Huisman is Almere's only guaranteed absentee for this one, as he remains out of contention for Almere City due to an ankle problem.

Julian Rijkhoff, who has netted 10 times in his last 10 appearances, including in both of his side's two cup outings this term, is certainly one to keep an eye on.

Sent off in Telstar's most recent league outing, Cedric Hatenboer is now ineligible to play any part here.

Additionally, Tyrone Owusu is also unavailable for the away side, albeit through injury, as he sits out a second straight game after featuring in 11 consecutive matches before that.

With four KNVB Beker goals, Milan Zonneveld sits at the top of the scoring charts and will look to add to his tally.

Almere City possible starting lineup:

Wendlinger; Sam, Van de Blaak, Lawrence, Vianello; De Haan, Kalisvaart; Poku, Rijkhoff, Kadile; Druijf

Telstar possible starting lineup:

Koeman; Bakker, Offerhaus, Nwankwo; Hardeveld, Mertens, Rossen, Noslin; Brouwer, Van de Kamp; Zonneveld