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

NAC Breda welcome bottom-placed Heracles to the Rat Verlegh Stadion on Saturday in gameweek six of the Eredivisie, aiming for their first victory over the Almelo visitors since 2018.

NAC have earned just one point from a possible 15 across matches in the top and second tiers, highlighting their ongoing struggle against this weekend's opponents.

Match preview

In his second full season in charge of NAC, Carl Hoefkens's team are just above the relegation zone in the early standings.

After five matches, the Breda-based club are 15th, one point ahead of SBV Excelsior in the relegation playoff spot, two clear of 17th-placed Heerenveen and four ahead of this weekend's opponent, Heracles, in the table.

While Parel van het Zuiden cannot drop to the bottom of the division after gameweek six, Hoefkens’s side are at risk of slipping into the bottom two if they lose this match to their Almelo visitors and results elsewhere go against them — with Excelsior travelling to FC Volendam and Heerenveen hosting NEC.

Although it is still early in the season, that outcome could cause concern among NEC supporters, given their five-match winless run in this fixture since securing back-to-back wins in February and November 2018.

Those victories remain NAC's only wins over Heracles in 10 encounters, with the Almelo-based club winning seven matches in that period, highlighting SCH’s dominance in this matchup.

However, Bas Sibum's men are the only club in the Eredivisie yet to pick up a point after five rounds and 15 points on offer.

Even worse, Heraclieden have scored the fewest goals (two) and have conceded the most (16), showcasing the cellar-dwelling club's issues at both ends of the pitch.

As a result, fans of the Almelo-based club may not expect a positive result in Breda, where they have not lost since November 2018, securing a 3-0 second-tier win in May 2023 and drawing 1-1 in a top-flight encounter in January this year.

With chastening defeats suffered away from home at Utrecht and Groningen, against whom they conceded eight times in 4-0 defeats in both games, and at home to NEC in a 4-1 loss, HAFC’s soft underbelly could be exploited on Saturday.

While some will point to NAC's failure to keep clean sheets as well, the Breda-based hosts have stayed competitive in all but one game: a 3-0 away loss at NEC, indicating their marginally superior standing when considering team performances.

NAC Breda Eredivisie form:

Heracles Eredivisie form:

Team News

Terence Kongolo (muscle), Charles-Andreas Brym (shoulder) and Moussa Soumano (knee) are expected to miss this weekend's match for the hosts due to their injuries.

While Lewis Holtby has more goal contributions (two) than his teammates, Juho Talvitie's eight chances created outperform teammates Mohamed Nassoh (seven) and Boy Kemper (five).

Talvitie's two clear-cut chances are a team high, positioning the wide attacker as Parel van het Zuiden’s leading threat.

Heracles are without the services of Mario Engels, Jeff Reine-Adelaide, and Sava-Arangel Cestic due to hamstring, knee and ankle injuries, respectively.

Jizz Hornkamp scored eight times last season, but the forward has only managed to score once this term, highlighting one of the bottom club's ongoing struggles.

Bryan Limbombe, however, has had a commendable start to the season, creating 10 chances so far, two of which have been defined as clear-cut opportunities.

NAC Breda possible starting lineup:

Bielica; Lucassen, Greimi, Hillen, Kemper; Holtby, Balard; Talvite, Nassoh, Sowah; Hooijdonk

Heracles possible starting lineup:

Keijzer; Benita, Mirani, Mesik, Kust; Scheperman, Zamburek; Limbombe, Hrustic, Gilst; Hornkamp

We say: NAC Breda 2-0 Heracles

Heracles’ concerns with inconsistent chance creation and a leaky rearguard highlight the tough challenge facing the Almelo team.

Consequently, a routine win could be on the cards for NAC, who are eager to finally experience some positive feelings from playing HAFC after several setbacks and disappointments.

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