Preview:Feyenoord vs. NEC - prediction, team news, lineups

Feyenoord’s strong start to the Eredivisie season is at risk of being undone as the former leaders suffered two defeats in three matches before the November international break.

Robin van Persie's team welcome NEC to De Kuip in Sunday's 13th round, seeking to return to winning ways after a 2-1 loss to Go Ahead Eagles before the pause.

Match preview

Having started the season with the determination of a club seeking a 17th top-flight crown, Feyenoord have lost twice in their previous three league matches.

These results have seen the Stadium Club fall three points behind defending champions PSV Eindhoven, and they aim for a 10th league victory to at least prevent falling further behind.

After beginning the campaign with great confidence in their defence, the Rotterdam giants have now failed to keep a clean sheet in three consecutive league matches and five in a row across all competitions, losing three during this period.

Having conceded two or more goals in three of their recent four games in all competitions, Feyenoord aim to keep their first clean sheet at De Kuip since September's 2-0 win over Fortuna Sittard.

Entering this weekend's match without losing to their opponents from Nijmegen in a decade, the Stadium Club aim to maintain that 10-year record by extending their 13-match unbeaten streak against NEC.

Fans in Rotterdam can expect a positive result not only because of their historical advantage in this fixture, but also due to their opponents’ away difficulties.

Dick Schreuder’s team have claimed five points from a possible 18 on the road this season, with their only away win coming back in mid-August against Heracles.

Since their 4-1 thrashing of the struggling bottom-placed side, NEC have lost three of their five league away matches, failing to score in their most recent away fixture at FC Utrecht in early November.

While that may be an anomaly for a team that have scored 11 goals in six away matches, conceding an equal number highlights their somewhat leaky defence on the road.

Only Groningen and Ajax (12) have conceded more goals than NEC away from home among the teams with the best nine away records in the league, further emphasising the defensive issues faced by the Nijmegen-based club on their travels.

Problems at the back could hinder the seventh-placed club's chances of climbing as high as fourth in the table after the 13th round — an outcome dependent on results elsewhere favouring them — with the prospect of slipping outside the top eight more probable, as Twente, Go Ahead Eagles, Sittard and Sparta are all two points behind and looking to surpass Schreuder’s side this weekend.

Feyenoord Eredivisie form:

Feyenoord form (all competitions):

NEC Eredivisie form:

NEC form (all competitions):

Team News

Feyenoord's stretched squad remains without injury absentees such as Justin Bijlow (leg), Malcom Jeng (leg), Jakub Moder (back), Thomas Beelen, Gernot Trauner (Achilles), Jordan Bos (muscle), Givairo Read (hamstring) and Jaden Slory.

Ayase Ueda has gone without scoring in consecutive games across all competitions and in four of his last five for Van Persie's team; however, the 13-goal striker aims to find the net again for the second-placed club.

NEC undoubtedly have a healthier squad, with only Bram Nuytinck (knee) confirmed as unavailable; Youssef El Kachti (hand) and Jasper Cillessen will be assessed before Sunday's visit to Rotterdam.

The quartet of Koki Ogawa (four goals), Bryan Linssen (three), Tjaronn Chery (three) and Kento Shiogai (three) have contributed to the team's seventh-place position, and they are expected to play key roles for the visitors ahead of Sunday's challenging fixture at De Kuip.

Feyenoord possible starting lineup:

Wellenreuther; Lotomba, Ahmedhodzic, Watanabe, Smal; Valente, Timber; Moussa, Steijn, Sauer; Ueda

NEC possible starting lineup:

Crettaz; Dasa, Sandler, Kaplan, Ouwejan; Nejasmic, Sano; Ouaissa, Chery, Linssen; Ogawa

We say: Feyenoord 3-1 NEC

After experiencing a few disappointments before the November international break, the pause came at a good time for Feyenoord, who hope to have regrouped in the past fortnight.

As a result, maximum points are anticipated for the Rotterdam giants, who are likely to extend NEC’s wait for a victory in this fixture beyond 10 years and keep them waiting for only their second away win since August.

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