Preview: Heracles vs NAC Breda - prediction, team news, lineups

A crucial relegation showdown sees Heracles welcome fellow strugglers NAC Breda to the Asito Stadium on Saturday afternoon in round 23 of the 2025-26 Eredivisie season.

The hosts are bottom but one in the table heading into a pivotal six-pointer against their visitors, who currently find themselves rooted to the foot of the standings.

Match preview

After participating in each of the last three seasons since gaining promotion from Eerste Divisie, Heracles' time in the Eredivisie looks set to come to an end as they continue to endure a disappointing campaign, winning just five of their 22 league outings.

Three of the five wins Ernest Faber's men have picked up so far came in a promising November spell, during which they won three games in a row, starting with a remarkable 8-2 thrashing of PEC Zwolle.

However, the Heraclieden have managed just five points from their subsequent nine league matches, with Saturday's 4-1 thrashing at NEC a fourth defeat in five Eredivisie outings since the turn of the year.

While Heracles' current four-point gap from safety is recoverable over the final 12 games, their shambolic defensive unit hardly offers any room for optimism, as the Almelo-based side are without a clean sheet in their last 19 matches across all competitions.

Nonetheless, Saturday's hosts can look to their record against the visitors as a source of belief heading into this weekend's encounter, having won eight of the last 12 meetings, although Heracles did lose the most recent meeting 4-1, albeit on KNVB Beker duty.

Finishing 15th on their return to the Eredivisie last season, Breda just about kept their head above water, but a dismal run of no wins from the final 16 outings suggested that trouble lay in store.

Carl Hoefkens's men managed three wins and three draws from their first 11 league matches of the current campaign, after which they have failed to win any of their subsequent 11 encounters.

A 2-0 defeat to SBV Excelsior last time out—sealed by first-half goals from Emil Hansson and Irakli Yegoian—was Breda’s 12th loss of the season, leaving them on 16 points: one behind Heracles and five from safety.

Given their league position, it is borderline inconceivable that Parel van het Zuiden have let in the second-fewest goals of any side in the bottom half (36), and their attacking woes have been the biggest contributor to their struggles with just 23 goals scored, the lowest of any Eredivisie team.

Saturday's visitors are the only team in the Dutch top flight yet to win a league match away from home this term, so their upcoming encounter is as good a time as any to end that streak and potentially reignite their quest for survival.

Heracles Eredivisie form:

Heracles form (all competitions):

NAC Breda Eredivisie form:

Team News

Jeff Reine-Adelaide has made only one appearance for Heracles since joining as a free agent last summer, sidelined by a long-term knee injury.

Thomas Bruns, Fabian de Keijzer, Mario Engels and Sem Scheperman (muscle) remain out for the hosts, who are also sweating on the fitness of Alec van Hoorenbeeck.

Van Hoorenbeeck’s run of 20 consecutive appearances ended against NEC, and the 27-year-old’s availability for this weekend is unclear.

Rio Hillen received an early bath 12 minutes into Breda's defeat to Excelsior and is ineligible to play any part on Saturday as he serves a suspension.

Fredrik Jensen and Boy Kemper are nursing respective injury problems, ruling them out of contention for the away side.

Heracles possible starting lineup:

Pasveer; Mesik, Cestic, Te Wierik; Van der Kust, Mirani, Hrustic, Benita; Unuvar, Ould Chikh, Zeefuik

NAC Breda possible starting lineup:

Bielica; Odoi, Greiml, Valerius; Talvitie, Balard, Sowah, Candelaria; Nassoh, Brym, Soumano

We say: Heracles 2-1 NAC Breda

Despite Breda’s attacking struggles, it is difficult to see them failing to score against the Eredivisie’s leakiest defence, with Heracles conceding over three goals per game on average.

Even so, we are backing the hosts to secure a crucial win and deepen their visitors’ relegation woes.

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