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

Round 11 of the 2026-27 Eredivisie season sees Heerenveen face NEC at the Abe Lenstra Stadion on Saturday.

The hosts are aiming for a fourth consecutive victory to continue their resurgence, while the visitors, despite a six-game unbeaten run, are still searching for their first league win since August.

Match preview

Heerenveen's 1-0 triumph over FC Twente in the opening gameweek was one of their most impressive results. However, a run of just one win from the next seven matches - yielding only six points from a possible 21 - dampened the mood considerably.

Nothing boosts confidence like a resounding victory, and Robin Veldman’s men delivered just that with a 4-0 win over SBV Excelsior in their second game back from the international break. That result sparked a three-game winning run, which continued with Wednesday’s cup success against Excelsior Maassluis.

Not since September 2017 have De Superfriezen won four consecutive competitive matches. This weekend’s clash provides a huge opportunity to end that wait, facing an opponent winless in the last three meetings and beaten on their last two visits to the Abe Lenstra Stadion.

Heerenveen are averaging only 1.4 goals per home league match this season and will look to improve their attacking output. Defensively, however, they have been solid, keeping three clean sheets in five home games, including the last two.

With a trip to Feyenoord following Saturday’s clash with NEC, Heerenveen are set for back-to-back matches against Dutch clubs competing in Europe - a preliminary test of their readiness to challenge for continental qualification after a 16-year wait.

Perhaps due to the added demands of Europa League football for the first time, NEC have made an underwhelming start to the current campaign, having finished third last season while averaging more than two goals per game.

While Dick Schreuder’s men have steadied themselves after a run of five defeats in seven matches between August 19 and September 17 - going unbeaten since - they have managed just one win in six, which came against Dinamo Zagreb.

Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Groningen was creditable given the circumstances, but it extended NEC’s winless league streak to seven matches. They have collected just five points in that span and have slipped from seventh to 12th in the table.

Schreuder, who still retains significant goodwill from last season’s heroics, will be eager to turn things around in the next three games before the November international break.

Saturday’s visitors have conceded 10 of their 18 goals before half time and have fallen behind first in four of their last five matches. This weekend’s fixture against a Heerenveen side that have opened the scoring in four of their last five matches will provide a stern test of NEC’s early-game frailties.

Heerenveen Eredivisie form:

Heerenveen form (all competitions):

NEC Eredivisie form:

NEC form (all competitions):

Team News

Midfielder Levi Smans has missed Heerenveen’s last two matches and is not expected to feature this weekend either.

Following his stellar display in midweek, Jacob Trenskow now has five goals and two assists in his last five matches, making him one to watch.

NEC’s Philippe Sandler is ruled out for Saturday’s trip through injury and is joined on the sidelines by fellow Dutch defenders Bram Nuytinck (ankle) and Yassin Moslih.

Further up the pitch, Dusan Tadic (calf) and Emre Mor (groin) are also unavailable for the visitors, but Ayodele Thomas is back in contention.

Tjarron Chery has scored in his last two away outings, and the 38-year-old who netted twice in March’s encounter with Heerenveen will be looking to deliver again.

Heerenveen possible starting lineup:

Klaverboer; Braude, Kersten, Willemsen, Zagaritis; Linday, Courtens; Trenskow, Meerveeld, Rivera; Vente

NEC possible starting lineup:

Crettaz; Fonville, Kaplan, Schuurs; Bischoff, Monteiro, Nejasmic, Kers; Lebreton, Chery, Linssen

We say: Heerenveen 2-1 NEC

NEC took the league by storm with their attacking firepower last season, and while that threat has diminished, we still expect them to find the net in Heerenveen.

That said, we are backing the hosts to secure maximum points and keep their winning run going.

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