🏏 Sat, 12 Sep 2026 21:00 CEST
Cambuur
vs
NEC Nijmegen
4-2-3-1 vs 3-4-2-1
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- Cambuur are rooted to the bottom of the Eredivisie in 18th, with a single point from five matches (one draw, four defeats) and a goal difference of -12 from six scored and 18 conceded. All three of their home games have ended in heavy defeats: 0-4 to Excelsior on the opening day, 2-5 to Feyenoord in round three and 1-4 to Twente in round four. Their only point came last time out, a 2-2 draw away at Telstar, and a first home win of the season is the obvious target.
- NEC Nijmegen sit 10th on seven points, with two wins, one draw and two defeats and a +2 goal difference. Tellingly, both victories have come on the road: 4-1 at Willem II in round two and 3-1 at PEC Zwolle in round four. At home they have been far less convincing, losing 2-1 to Telstar on matchday one and 3-1 to Feyenoord in round five. With AZ Alkmaar already clear at the top on 16 points from six games, NEC can ill afford to slip against the bottom club.
- Tjaronn Chery lines up in NEC's advanced pair against a club from his own past. The 24-year-old Suriname international is a creative left-footed operator whose through balls and shooting from range are his calling cards, and Cambuur is one stop on a remarkably well-travelled CV that also includes RBC Roosendaal, FC Emmen, ADO Den Haag, Groningen, Twente, Queens Park Rangers, Guizhou, Kayserispor, Maccabi Haifa and Royal Antwerp. At 173cm he will look to find pockets between Cambuur's young midfield and back line.
- A second reunion waits on the bench. Jamiro Monteiro, the 32-year-old Cape Verde international, was born in the Netherlands and made his professional debut at Cambuur before moving on to FC Metz and then to MLS, where he was a Designated Player at Philadelphia Union. He also featured at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. Standing 172cm, his close control in tight spaces and creative passing make him an obvious game-changer if NEC need to unlock a packed defence.
- Cambuur's 4-2-3-1 meets a 3-4-2-1 from NEC. The visitors' back three is anchored by Philippe Sandler, the 190cm 29-year-old whose career took him from Ajax's academy to Manchester City and who now supplies the long, accurate passing that starts NEC's build-up. In front of him will be Nicolas Binder, Cambuur's 193cm Austrian centre-forward signed from Austria Klagenfurt. That aerial contest between two of the tallest players on the pitch could shape the whole afternoon.
- Cambuur's defence is strikingly young. Morgan Costarelli, a 21-year-old 170cm product of Lille's academy, starts on the left; the centre is manned by 20-year-old Billy van Duijl, a 190cm left-footed centre-back raised at Volendam who then moved to AZ, and 19-year-old Ismael Baouf, who came through Anderlecht's second team and Charleroi. On the right is 25-year-old Devid Bouah, schooled in Roma's youth system. With a squad averaging 22.2 years, holding off NEC's experience is a tall order.
- The midfield battle is finely balanced. NEC screen their back three with Croatian Darko Nejasmic, the 27-year-old 183cm holding midfielder raised at Hajduk Split and Osijek, whose ball-winning and coverage set the tone. Cambuur counter with Nicky Souren, a 173cm 26-year-old who built his game at MVV and Roda and offers relentless running. Out wide, NEC's 171cm Adam Tahaui, 21 and a Vitesse academy graduate, takes the right wing-back role and looks to use his close control to change the angle of attack.
- NEC's bench is loaded with experience. Dusan Tadic, the 37-year-old Serbia playmaker who won the Eredivisie and reached a Champions League semi-final with Ajax after spells at Southampton, Twente and Groningen, waits alongside Bram Nuytinck, the 36-year-old 191cm left-footed centre-back who spent years at Udinese and Sampdoria and won three Belgian titles with Anderlecht. Emre Mor, the 29-year-old Turkey winger once signed by Borussia Dortmund, is also available, as is 35-year-old Bryan Linssen, who played in Japan for Urawa Red Diamonds.
- The goalkeepers bring contrasting journeys. Cambuur's Thijs Jansen, 24 and 192cm, was raised at Feyenoord and arrived via De Graafschap and FC Oss to become the number one for a side back in the Eredivisie after three seasons away. NEC's Gonzalo Crettaz, a 26-year-old Argentine standing 184cm, came through Malaga's youth system and sharpened his game in Spain's second and third tiers, where his reflexes and close-range shot-stopping earned praise. Cambuur also have German keeper Luca Plogmann, back from a ruptured patellar tendon, in reserve.