🏏 Sun, 11 Oct 2026 16:45 CEST
Excelsior
vs
FC Groningen
4-3-3 vs 4-2-3-1
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- A straight fight between seventh and ninth, both level on 11 points. Excelsior are 3-2-2 from seven matches with 15 goals scored and nine conceded for a +6 difference; Groningen have exactly the same 3-2-2 record and also 15 goals scored, but 13 conceded leaves them at +2 and a place lower. Both sides still have a game in hand, and the winner closes in on sixth-placed Fortuna Sittard on 14 points.
- The two arrive in contrasting moods. Excelsior won back-to-back fixtures, beating Sparta Rotterdam 2-1 at home in round four and winning 3-0 away at Willem II in round five, before losing 2-1 at home to Utrecht and drawing 2-2 away at Ajax last time out. Groningen lost 5-1 at PSV Eindhoven and 3-2 at home to Fortuna Sittard, drew 2-2 with Twente and 1-1 at GO Ahead Eagles, then steadied themselves with a 3-0 home win over PEC Zwolle.
- The attacking output is identical, the defending is not. Both clubs have scored 15 goals in seven games, but Excelsior have conceded nine to Groningen's 13. The visitors shipped five at PSV and three against Fortuna before keeping a clean sheet in that 3-0 win over PEC Zwolle, so whether that renewed solidity travels to Rotterdam may decide which side moves up the table.
- Excelsior's 4-3-3 is fronted by Aymen Sliti, a 2006-born attacker still on Feyenoord's books who is gathering minutes at the other Rotterdam club while wearing the number seven. David Garden, born in 2004 and wearing 19, occupies the central role, giving the hosts a notably young front line to run at Groningen's back four.
- The midfield contrast is the tactical hook. Excelsior pair two compact, mobile central midfielders in the 170cm Lennard Hartjes and the 168cm Georgian Irakli Yegoian, with the 190cm, 89kg Rick Meissen — a centre-back by trade — alongside them. Groningen counter with Pelle Clement, an Ajax academy product whose career has taken in Reading, PEC Zwolle and Sparta Rotterdam, and the 173cm Tika de Jonge, schooled at NAC Breda after time in Feyenoord's youth setup.
- Groningen's focal point is Iceland international Brynjólfur Willumsson, the 26-year-old, 185cm centre-forward at the tip of their 4-2-3-1. He arrived via Kristiansund BK in Norway after starting out at Breiðablik and is the brother of NEC's Willum Thór Willumsson. Beside him is Sweden international Jacob Ondrejka, 24, who moved to Parma for around €7m after Elfsborg and Royal Antwerp and joined on loan in August 2026, equally comfortable going outside or cutting inside.
- Both back lines carry interesting profiles. Excelsior field the 192cm left-footed centre-back Casper Widell, 23, who came through Helsingborgs IF and captained Sweden at under-16 and under-17 level, alongside 20-year-old right-back Eric da Silva Moreira, a St. Pauli academy graduate who has also been on Nottingham Forest's books. Groningen answer with 190cm homegrown centre-back Thijmen Blokzijl, 21 and a Dutch youth international, and German full-back Marco Rente, 29, who made 87 appearances for Heracles Almelo.
- There is serious firepower on both benches. Excelsior can call on 33-year-old Iran international Alireza Jahanbakhsh, who in 2017-18 became the first Asian player to finish as top scorer in a major European league while at AZ, and who joined on a free from Belgian side Dender in August 2026 after spells at Brighton, Feyenoord and Heerenveen. He has 98 caps, 17 international goals and three World Cups behind him in 2014, 2018 and 2022. Groningen's option off the bench is 192cm Polish striker Oskar Zawada, 30.
- The goalkeeping duel pits two experienced heads against each other. Stijn van Gassel, 29, spent years as first choice at Helmond Sport and returned to Excelsior via NEC, and is valued for his reflexes and close-range stops, with 188cm Portuguese keeper Celton Biai pushing him from the bench. Etienne Vaessen, 31 and listed at 189cm and 93kg, made 196 league appearances across nine years at RKC Waalwijk, where he also helped win promotion.