🏏 Tue, 8 Sep 2026 18:45 CEST
NEC Nijmegen
vs
Excelsior
3-4-2-1 vs 3-4-3
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- NEC Nijmegen sit 10th on six points from four matches (2W-2L, nine scored, seven conceded, +2), while Excelsior are up in fifth on nine points from a 3W-1L start with just three goals conceded and a +7 difference. Three points separate them, so a home win would pull NEC level on nine. Both clubs have played one game fewer than most of the division, making this the catch-up Round 3 fixture.
- The home-away split is the striking part of both records. NEC have won on the road at Willem II (4-1) and PEC Zwolle (3-1) but lost both matches in Nijmegen, 1-2 to Telstar on opening day and 1-3 to Feyenoord most recently. Excelsior are the mirror image: 4-0 at Cambuur and 3-0 at Willem II, two clean sheets away from home, with their only defeat a 1-2 loss to PSV in Rotterdam.
- Excelsior goalkeeper Stijn van Gassel faces a former club here, having spent time at NEC Nijmegen before returning to Rotterdam. The 29-year-old was a long-serving number one at Helmond Sport and is valued for his close-range shot-stopping and the way he organises the back line by voice. Portuguese keeper Celton Biai, 188cm and signed from Dordrecht, waits on the bench as competition for the shirt.
- Dusan Tadic leads NEC's 3-4-2-1 at the age of 37. The Serbia international won the Eredivisie and reached a Champions League semi-final with Ajax, and also played for Southampton, Twente, Groningen and Fenerbahce; his ball retention and final pass remain his calling cards. Behind him sit two unusually tall shadow strikers: 188cm Norwegian Isak Hansen-Aaroen, 22, a Manchester United academy product who arrived via Werder Bremen, and left-footed Iceland international Willum Thor Willumsson, 193cm.
- Excelsior's back three is built on height to counter exactly that. Sweden's Casper Widell, 23 and 192cm, is a left-footed centre-back who debuted at Helsingborgs IF and captained his country at U16 and U17 level, comfortable enough on the ball to help build play. Alongside him, the 190cm, 89kg Rick Meissen dominates aerially, while 188cm Jan Plug, 21, came through the Feyenoord academy. Two straight away clean sheets are their handiwork.
- Midfield offers a contest between small, technical operators. NEC lean on 172cm Cape Verde international Jamiro Monteiro, a 32-year-old who played for PEC Zwolle and Metz before starring as a Designated Player at Philadelphia Union and appearing at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. Excelsior answer with 170cm Lennard Hartjes, 23, and 168cm Georgian Irakli Yegoian, 22, both built for tight spaces and quick turns.
- With both sides in a back three, the wide channels should decide the balance of the game. Excelsior's 25-year-old left-back Simon Janssen gets up and down the flank and delivers accurate crosses off his left foot. NEC counter with 171cm Adam Tahaui, a 21-year-old from the Vitesse academy who provides quality in tight areas, and 176cm Tobias Storm, 22, a Lyngby graduate whose mobility and stubborn defending cover the flank.
- NEC's rearguard is marshalled by 36-year-old left-footed centre-back Bram Nuytinck, a Serie A veteran of Udinese and Sampdoria who also won three Belgian titles with Anderlecht. Back at NEC, he is flanked by two 22-year-olds in Tobias Storm and Portuguese defender Gabriel Bras. His aerial strength and line-setting will be central to whether the hosts finally get something out of a home fixture after two defeats.
- The benches carry real weight too. NEC can call on Philippe Sandler, the 29-year-old, 190cm ball-playing centre-back with Manchester City on his CV, 191cm Perr Schuurs after spells at Ajax and Torino, and striker Kaj Sierhuis, an Ajax academy graduate who has played in Ligue 1 with Stade de Reims. Excelsior hold back Iran international Alireza Jahanbakhsh, 33, who became the first Asian player to win the Eredivisie scoring title in 2017-18 with AZ and has 98 caps and 17 goals.