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

Two sides who could do well with a win go head to head in the penultimate round of the Eredivisie as Groningen play host to NEC at the Euroborg Stadium on Sunday.

While the Trots van het Noorden will be looking to climb into the top half of the table, the visitors find themselves in a three-horse race for the Champions League playoff ticket and must avoid any slip-ups in their final two games.

Match preview

What seemed like a resurgent spell at the business end of the season has started to unravel for Groningen, who suffered a second consecutive defeat last Saturday when they were beaten 3-2 by Excelsior at the Euroborg Stadium.

Tika de Jonge and Younes Taha scored on either side of Casper Widell’s 40th-minute equaliser to put Groningen in front heading into the final 30 minutes, but Derensili Sanches Fernandes restored parity for Excelsior before Gyan de Regt finished off a well-worked team goal in the 90th minute to complete the comeback.

Since going four straight matches without defeat between March 7 and April 4, racking up 10 points from a possible 12, Dick Lukkien’s men have failed to taste victory in their subsequent three games, playing out a goalless draw with Go Ahead Eagles on April 11 before suffering back-to-back losses against Feyenoord and Excelsior.

Despite their recent drop-off in form, Groningen remain firmly in the race for a spot in the Conference League playoffs, as they sit 10th in the Eredivisie table with 42 points from 32 games, one point behind ninth-placed Sparta Rotterdam.

However, next up is the stern challenge of an opposing side who are unbeaten in eight of the last 10 meetings between the two teams, picking up six wins and two draws since September 2020.

It has been a difficult few weeks for NEC Nijmegen, who suffered a huge blow in their push for the automatic Champions League ticket last Saturday when they played out a 1-1 draw with Telstar on home turf.

Nijmegen men were made to rue their wasteful display in front of goal at the Stadion de Goffert, with Sem van Duijn burying a close-range finish in the 32nd minute to put Telstar in front before Tjaronn Chery hit back in the 85th minute to help the hosts salvage a point.

While this weekend’s visitors are unbeaten in seven consecutive Eredivisie games, they have dropped two points in four of their last five outings, playing out consecutive stalemates against Heerenveen, Feyenoord, Twente and most recently Telstar, a run which has all but ended realistic chances of a top-two finish.

Coming off the back of an eighth-placed finish last season, it has been a stellar campaign under head coach Dick Schreuder, who has the Gelderland outfit on course for a first-ever Champions League qualification in his debut season at the helm.

Nijmegen have picked up 15 wins and 11 draws from their 32 matches to sit third in the Eredivisie table, five points behind second-placed Feyenoord in the automatic UCL places and one point above fourth-placed Ajax in the Europa League qualifying spot.

Schreuder also guided Nijmegen to the KNVB Beker final — their first domestic cup final appearance since the 2023-2024 campaign — but they fell short at the hands of AZ Alkmaar, suffering a humbling 5-1 defeat when the two sides met at the Stadion Feijenoord on April 19.

Groningen Eredivisie form:

NEC Eredivisie form:

NEC form (all competitions):

Team News

Groningen remain without the services of Dutch midfielder Stije Resnik, who has missed each of the last seven matches since suffering a knee injury against Volendam on March 1.

He is joined on Trots van het Noorden's injury table by Polish striker Oskar Zawada, who had been out of action since sustaining an arm injury against Ajax back in March.

Experienced goalkeeper Hidde Jurjus was omitted from the squad against Excelsior last time out and the 32-year-old is a major doubt for this weekend’s hosts.

As for Nijmegen, Basra Onal is set to sit out his third consecutive game since coming off injured against AZ Alkmaar on April 19, while teenage goalkeeper Freek Entius continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines through a knee injury.

With 11 goals and seven assists under his belt this season, Bryan Linssen has been a standout performer for the Gelderland outfit, and after enduring a relatively quiet outing against Telstar last time out, the 35-year-old will look to deliver the goods once again.

Groningen possible starting lineup:

Vaessen; Rente, Blokzijl, Janse, Peersman; De Jonge, Land; Taha, Van der Werff, Schreuders; Van Bergen

NEC possible starting lineup:

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

We say: Groningen 0-2 NEC

A run of two consecutive defeats has seen Groningen crash back to earth in the mid-tables, and while they will be looking to find their feet on Sunday, they are in for another tough 90 minutes against a Nijmegen side in a heated race with Ajax and Twente for the UCL playoff ticket.

Schreuder's men have been rock-solid on their travels, where they boast the second-best point tally this season, and having picked up four wins in their last five games against Groningen, we are backing them to come away with a narrow victory this weekend.

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