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

Heracles Almelo and NEC are separated by 14 places in the embryonic Eredivisie table ahead of Saturday's gameweek two clash at Asito Stadion.

Heracles were among the biggest losers in the opening weekend, going down 4-0 to FC Utrecht, while the visitors impressively defeated promoted Excelsior 5-0, placing them second in the standings after week one.

Match preview

After finishing the 2024-25 season 14th in the Eredivisie, Bas Sibum's team began the new campaign with a 4-0 defeat, which may have raised alarms in Almelo.

While Heraclieden were never truly in danger of relegation — they were 12 points clear of the relegation playoff spot and 13 above second-bottom — the heavy opening round loss was far from ideal for SCH.

The defeat in gameweek one was especially tough on goalkeeper Fabian de Keijzer, whose uneven performance saw him make several commendable saves but also commit an error that led to one of Utrecht's four goals.

Eager to move on from the first-round defeat, Heracles, who won three of their final five home games to close out 24-25 — a total of six — aim to avoid losing consecutive matches to start a new season.

However, the corresponding fixture last season will be fresh in the minds of the home fans, who saw NEC's 2-1 victory in the final game of the previous year; nevertheless, they did beat this weekend's visitors in Nijmegen in September 2024.

While Dick Schreuder was not in charge when NEC beat Heracles on the final day of last season, the new boss got off to a bright start in his first competitive match since replacing Rogier Meijer, who guided the club to eighth place last season.

Last weekend's 5-0 win was only outdone by PSV Eindhoven's 6-1 thrashing of Sparta Rotterdam, placing Schreuder’s team second after gameweek one.

The success in round one is reflected not only in their high league position heading into this weekend but also in being one of the seven clubs to win in week one and one of six to score two or more goals.

Having secured back-to-back away wins to end the previous season, including the 2-1 victory at Asito Stadion in gameweek 34, NEC now strive to notch three consecutive away wins across two seasons.

After witnessing their side capitalising on their clear-cut opportunities during the opening weekend, with Koki Ogawa's seven-minute double and Dirk Proper's stunning long-range strike standing out, the travelling supporters will be optimistic about their team's prospects this Saturday.

Heracles Eredivisie form:

NEC Eredivisie form:

Team News

Mario Engels, who was substituted after 14 minutes due to injury against Utrecht, is likely to join Sava-Arangel Cestic on the injury list.

Jizz Hornkamp was ineffective in round one, leaving last season's eight-goal top scorer frustrated after receiving limited scoring opportunities.

It will be interesting to see whether Sibum retains Hornkamp or starts last season's top scorer Luka Kulenovic (nine goals) as HAFC seek their first victory of 2056-26.

NEC emerged relatively unscathed from Schreuder’s competitive debut, which means the new manager could keep the same team that convincingly defeated Excelsior.

Apart from Ogawa, who scored twice, the visitors will hope that fellow attackers Bryan Linssen and Tjaronn Chery, both of whom scored and assisted, produce top performances in gameweek two.

It would also be remiss not to highlight the impressive performance of Basar Onal from left wing-back, who supplied two goals against promoted Excelsior and aims to be as threatening this weekend.

Heracles possible starting lineup:

Keijzer; Wieckhoff, Mirani, Mesik, Kust; Zamburek, Scheperman; Limbombe, Gilst, Sanches; Hornkamp

NEC possible starting lineup:

Crettaz; Pereira, Sandler, Verdonk; Ouaissa, Sano, Proper, Onal; Chery, Linssen; Ogawa

We say: Heracles 1-2 NEC

While no two games are ever identical, NEC’s offensive threat was evident in their 5-0 win over Excelsior and their recent victory in Almelo in May, suggesting they are well-placed to inflict another top-flight defeat on Heracles on Saturday.

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