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

Meanwhile, the hosts will be seeking to get back to winning ways having managed just one point from their last two outings heading into this weekend's contest.

Match preview

Vitesse recorded their first win since mid-February by seeing off the threat of Go Ahead Eagles in a routine 2-0 victory at GelreDome on Saturday.

Phillip Cocu's men opened the scoring just shy of the midway point of the first half through Maximilian Wittek after which Mohamed Sankoh put the result beyond doubt 19 minutes into the second period.

That triumph has seen Geel en Zwart move up to 13th place in the Eredivisie table, opening up a three-point cushion over teams in the bottom three.

Coming up next is the challenge of an opposing outfit who boast just one win in the last nine editions of this fixture across all competitions.

Having now gone five matches since they last came out on top away from home, Sunday's visitors head to Nijmegen aiming to turn their fortunes around and steer further clear of relegation danger.

NEC had to settle for a share of the spoils following a goalless stalemate against FC Emmen in the sides' encounter at De Oude Meerdijk on Sunday.

Rogier Meijer's men enjoyed the lion's share of the ball possession and territorial advantage but failed to convert it into anything substantial at the top end of the pitch.

Picking up 35 points from their 28 matches so far, the Eniesee remain 10th in the standings, outside the top half only on goal difference heading into the final six rounds of matches.

Off the back of a first home defeat in 13 outings earlier this month, Sunday's hosts will be keen to avoid back to back losses in front of their fans for the first time in just under a year.

NEC Eredivisie form:

W

L

D

W

L

D

Vitesse Eredivisie form:

L

L

L

D

L

W

Team News

Mathias de Wolf is still ruled out of contention for NEC as he continues to battle with a muscle problem which he suffered earlier this season.

Dutch duo Robin Roefs and Calvin Verdonk also miss out for the hosts, while Oussama Tannane's involvement is doubtful due to a hamstring problem.

NEC will be desperate to have Tannane fit for this one with the 29-year-old directly contributing to 15 of his side's 37 goals this season.

Thirty-one-year-old Davy Propper remains unavailable for this weekend having not made an appearance for Vitesse in over two months due to a knee problem.

Maximilian Wittek wasted no time in announcing his re-introduction to the starting XI with his opening goal last time out and the defender should retain his place in the lineup.

NEC possible starting lineup:

Cillessen; El Karouani, Kramer, Sandler, Van Rooy; Proper, Schone; Cissoko, Mattsson, Tavsan; Dimata

Vitesse possible starting lineup:

Scherpen; Arcus, Flamingo, Isimat-Mirin, Wittek; Van Ginkel, Meulensteen; Manhoef, Bero, Kozlowski; Sankoh

We say: NEC 1-0 Vitesse

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