Preview: Cambuur vs NEC - prediction, team news, lineups

SC Cambuur host NEC Nijmegen in the Eredivisie at the Kooi Stadion in Leeuwarden on Saturday, with kick-off scheduled for 8:00pm BST.

Johan Plat's winless hosts sit bottom of the table and welcome a NEC Nijmegen side who, under Dick Schreuder, have already been through a Champions League qualifying campaign this season on their way to a comfortable position inside the top half of the Eredivisie.

Match preview

Cambuur are bottom of the Eredivisie with one point from five matches, still searching for their first win since returning to the top flight as a newly-promoted side.

The Frisian club have conceded 18 goals in those five matches, an average of 3.6 per game, comfortably the worst defensive record in the division this season.

Three of those matches have been played at the Kooi Stadion, where Cambuur are yet to collect a single point in their opening weeks back in the Eredivisie.

Their only point of the campaign came in a 2-2 draw away to 10-man Telstar last weekend, a result that summed up their season so far: Cambuur led 2-0 through Rafik El Arguioui and Nicolas Binder before conceding two penalties, including a stoppage-time equaliser converted by goalkeeper Ronald Koeman Jr in the 101st minute.

Head coach Johan Plat replaced Henk de Jong in April, having previously worked as Dick Schreuder's assistant at PEC Zwolle and Spanish second-tier club CD Castellon, where he later took his own first head-coaching role.

El Arguioui remains the team's standout performer with four of Cambuur's six league goals, while the club continues to operate under financial scrutiny from the Dutch football federation following losses incurred in building their new stadium.

NEC Nijmegen travel to Friesland in ninth place, having taken seven points from five matches under Dick Schreuder, who guided the club to third in the Eredivisie last season.

That top-three finish earned NEC a run in Champions League qualifying, and although they beat Olympiacos to reach the play-off round, their European campaign ended there with a 6-1 aggregate defeat to Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt across two legs.

Domestically, NEC have won both of their away league matches this season, scoring seven goals combined in victories at Willem II and PEC Zwolle.

The club remain winless in three home Eredivisie matches, salvaging a point through Noe Lebreton's stoppage-time equaliser in a 2-2 draw with Excelsior in midweek.

Schreuder's side dominated that match territorially, completing 677 passes, but managed only three shots on target, a recurring theme for a team that has controlled games without always finding a cutting edge.

Tjaronn Chery leads NEC's scoring with three league goals, with Willum Willumsson and Isak Hansen-Aaroen supplying much of the creativity behind central striker Dusan Tadic, who has moved into a more central role following injuries to established forwards Bryan Linssen and Kaj Sierhuis.

Cambuur Eredivisie form:

Cambuur form (all competitions):

NEC Eredivisie form:

NEC form (all competitions):

Team News

Cambuur will be without Wout Asselman and Daan Visser for this match, with the latter still working his way back from cruciate ligament surgery.

Thijs Jansen is expected to start behind Devid Eugene Bouah, Ismael Baouf, Billy van Duijl and Morgan Costarelli, with Jamal Amofa and Nicky Souren anchoring the midfield, while Nicolas Binder leads the attack alongside Fabian Kvam, Ilyes Hamache and El Arguioui.

Schreuder has a lengthy absentee list for the trip to Leeuwarden, with Bryan Linssen, Bram Nuytinck, Emre Mor, Kaj Sierhuis, Ahmetcan Kaplan, Deveron Fonville and Yassin Moslih all unavailable.

Nikolas Polster is set to start behind Philippe Sandler, Tobias Storm and Gabriel Bras in a reshuffled back three, while Adam Tahaui and Dele Thomas provide the width and Noe Lebreton and Jamiro Monteiro operate centrally in NEC's 3-4-2-1.

Cambuur possible starting lineup:

Jansen; Bouah, Baouf, Duijl, Costarelli; Amofa, Souren; Kvam, El Arguioui, Hamache; Binder

NEC possible starting lineup:

Polster; Sandler, Storm, Bras; Tahaui, Lebreton, Monteiro, Thomas; Willumsson, Hansen-Aaroen; Tadic

We say: Cambuur 1-2 NEC

Cambuur's inability to protect a lead, shown so vividly against Telstar, points to further defensive trouble against an NEC side capable of controlling matches for long spells.

NEC's own conversion problems make a routine away win unlikely, but their greater control of possession and squad depth should be enough to make the difference in the closing stages.

Sports Mole predicts a 1-2 win for NEC Nijmegen, leaving Cambuur still searching for their first home point of the season.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.