Afghanistan
Angola
Argentina
Asia (AFC)
Asian Games
Australia
Belgium-Netherlands
Brazil
Burkina Faso
Central American & Caribbean Games
Central American Games
Congo DR
Denmark
England
Europe (UEFA)
FYR Macedonia
Finland
Germany
Greece
International Tournaments
Italy
Mediterranean Games
Mexico
National
Nepal
North & Central America (Concacaf)
Palestine
Pan American Games
Panama
Russia
Scandinavia
Serbia And Montenegro
South American Games
Spain
Syria
USA
World (FIFA)
Yemen
Zimbabwe

Nijmegenvs.Go Ahead Eagles

sportsmole.co.uk, 21 May 2024, 23:52
NEC welcome Go Ahead Eagles to Goffertstadion for an Eredivisie Europa playoff semi-final on Thursday night.

The victors of this one-legged affair will face the winners of the second semi-final between FC Utrecht and Sparta Rotterdam for a chance to secure a place in the Europa Conference League qualifying rounds for next season.

Match preview

Following back-to-back bottom-half finishes in the previous two Eredivisie campaigns, NEC have ended the 2023-24 season in sixth place, their highest top-flight finish for over two decades.

The Gelderland-based outfit have equalled their points record from the 1971-72 season (53) after coming from behind to thrash Almere City 4-1 away from home in their final match of the regular season last weekend.

Goals from Kodai Sano, Dirk Proper, Koki Ogawa and Tjaronn Chery helped Rogier Meijer's side cruise to their 14th league win of the season, six more than the previous campaign, and they require just two more triumphs to secure their spot in the qualification phase for next season's Conference League.

NEC have not competed in European competition since the 2008-09 season when they were eliminated in the round of 32 by Hamburger SV in the UEFA Cup.

Meijer, who will serve a one-match touchline ban on Thursday, is now tasked with returning the club to Europe and must navigate his side past a Go Ahead Eagles outfit whom they beat 2-1 in their last home meeting in January.

Go Ahead Eagles have only won two of the last eight encounters with NEC and they travel to Goffertstadion following an inconsistent end to the regular Eredivisie campaign.

Indeed, Rene Hake's men registered just two victories in their final 10 league matches, although one of those was a 2-1 away success over FC Volendam last weekend courtesy of goals from Philippe Rommens and Enric Llansana.

Nevertheless, the Overijssel-based club never looked in danger of slipping below ninth spot heading down the home straight and they still managed to improve on last season's 11th-placed finish.

Go Ahead Eagles are now bidding to qualify for European competition for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign when they reached the first qualifying round of the Europa League, losing out to Ferencvaros over two legs - you have to go all the way back to 1965-66 for their only previous European appearance in the first round of the Cup Winners' Cup, losing 7-0 on aggregate to Celtic.

NEC Eredivisie form:

W

D

L

W

L

W

NEC form (all competitions):

D

L

L

W

L

W

Go Ahead Eagles Eredivisie form:

D

L

L

D

L

W

Team News

NEC are still having to cope without Bart van Rooij and Philippe Sandler who are nursing hamstring injuries, while Yvandro Borges Sanches (ACL) and Bas Dost (heart condition) remain long-term absentees.

Bram Nuytinck is available to return after serving a one-match ban last weekend and he is set to push for a recall at the heart of defence, while the rest of Meijer's lineup could remain intact.

As for Go Ahead Eagles, Mats Deijl missed last weekend's game due to a knee injury and the defender is not expected to recover in time for Thursday's fixture.

Luca Everink is therefore set to continue at right-back, joining Jamal Amofa, Gerrit Nauber and Bas Kuipers in the back four, while there are unlikely to be too many changes, if any, in midfield or attack, with Oliver Valaker Edvardsen and Victor Edvardsen, who have scored 17 goals between them this term, expected to continue in the final third.

NEC possible starting lineup:

Cillessen; Pereira, Nuytinck, Verdonk, Bass; Proper, Hoedemakers; Hansen, Chery, Sano; Ogawa

Go Ahead Eagles possible starting lineup:

De Lange; Everink, Nauber, Kramer, Kuipers; Linthorst, Rommens; Adekanye, Breum, O. Edvardsen; V. Edvardsen

We say: NEC 2-1 Go Ahead Eagles

A closely-fought contest between two evenly-matched teams is set to be played out on Thursday, and although NEC have failed to win their last three home games, we believe they will find a way to come out on top this time around.

Previews by email

Top News

23 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Fulham are reportedly interested in signing Atalanta BC forward El Bilal Toure this summer. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Paris Saint-Germain attacker Xavi Simons has reportedly informed the French club of his desire to leave this summer. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Cristiano Ronaldo broke a European Championship assist record in Portugal's 3-0 win over Turkey. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea have reportedly held talks over a potential transfer for Lille forward Jonathan David. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Belgium recorded a crucial 2-0 victory against Romania to keep their Group E hopes alive as they secured three points, moving level with all three other sides going into the final game of the group stage. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Belgium recorded a crucial 2-0 victory against Romania to keep their Group E hopes alive as they secured three points, moving level with all three other sides going into the final game of the group stage. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk France attacker Kylian Mbappe reportedly scored twice and laid on two assists in a behind-closed-doors friendly ahead of his expected Euro 2024 comeback. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Atletico Madrid have reportedly slapped a €60m (£50.7m) price tag on Barcelona target Joao Felix. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid defender Nacho Fernandez has reportedly reached an agreement to sign for Saudi Arabian club Al Qadsiah. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Getafe president Angel Torres has hinted that Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood could return to the Spanish club next season. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Belgium have made four changes for Saturday's Euro 2024 fixture against Romania in Cologne. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Portugal made extremely light work of an error-strewn Turkey outfit to stroll into the last 16 of Euro 2024 as Group F winners with a 3-0 success at the Signal Iduna Park. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United have reportedly discovered the asking price of West Ham United's Edson Alvarez after making an enquiry for the midfielder. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk With Ederson suffering an eye socket fracture in March, Alisson will remain Brazil's first-choice goalkeeper when they open their Copa America campaign against Costa Rica on Monday. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Aiming to seal second spot in Group B at Euro 2024, reigning champions Italy meet Croatia on Monday night needing just one point to ensure a place in the knockout phase. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Everton have completed the signing of midfield starlet Tim Iroegbunam from fellow Premier League club Aston Villa. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Needing a win to stand any chance of continuing their campaign at Euro 2024, Croatia meet Group B rivals Italy in Leipzig on Monday evening. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Newcastle United are reportedly in talks with Everton over a permanent move for long-standing target Dominic Calvert-Lewin. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Czech Republic forward Patrik Schick scored a second-half equaliser to deny Georgia their first major tournament win at Euro 2024. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea are reportedly planning to submit a new bid for Atletico Madrid striker Samu Omorodion after seeing an initial approach knocked back. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce are reportedly giving consideration to a shock move for Manchester United midfielder Casemiro in the summer transfer window. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona have reached an agreement on a contract extension with highly-rated midfielder Marc Casado, which will see him remain at Camp Nou until 2028. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea are supposedly still working to close a deal for Napoli striker Victor Osimhen despite claims that they had moved on to alternative attacking options. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona have reportedly made Bayer Leverkusen's Jeremie Frimpong their primary target, with manager Hansi Flick keen to secure the 23-year-old defender in this summer's transfer window. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea have been linked with a wide array of top prospects since the end of the season, many of whom have made notable impacts at their respective clubs. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United and Manchester City are reportedly out of the running to sign Michael Olise, with the Crystal Palace winger now expected to join Bayern Munich this summer. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Vying for second spot in Group B at Euro 2024, Croatia and Italy will meet for a Monday night showdown in Leipzig. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Everton have announced that they have completed the signing of Aston Villa midfielder Tim Iroegbunam. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur could reportedly face a possible ban as the FA investigate a recent offensive comment he made towards Son Heung-min and South Koreans. 22 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Rangers are allegedly closing in on the signing of Bayern Munich youngster Yusuf Kabadayi.