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Champions League-chasing NEC Nijmegen will host FC Utrecht at the Goffertstadion on Wednesday in an Eredivisie fixture, with the hosts continuing their fine league form this season.

Wednesday’s match was initially scheduled for early last month but was postponed due to bad weather and will now see two sides in contrasting form go head-to-head.

Match preview

NEC extended their winning run to six matches in all competitions with a commanding 4-1 victory over Heracles Almelo on Saturday, a result that saw 37-year-old Tjaronn Chery become the oldest goalscorer in Eredivisie history on a memorable afternoon for the Nijmegen outfit.

It was further cause for celebration as veteran forward Bryan Linssen etched his name into the record books by becoming the first player to score at least ten goals for six different Eredivisie clubs, having previously achieved the feat with VVV-Venlo, Heracles Almelo, FC Groningen, Vitesse and Feyenoord.

The Eniesee head into Wednesday’s fixture knowing that a single point would lift them into second place in the Eredivisie standings ahead of Feyenoord and into a direct Champions League qualification spot, a scenario that provides huge motivation for Dick Schreuder’s side.

Schreuder’s men are currently on a remarkable 13-match winning streak across all competitions, with their last defeat coming in November against Wednesday’s opponents Utrecht, when Miguel Rodríguez’s 41st-minute strike handed them a narrow 1-0 loss at Stadion Galgenwaard.

NEC boast the second-best attacking record in the Eredivisie this season with 56 goals in 21 matches, trailing only runaway leaders PSV Eindhoven, and that firepower has underpinned a run of consistency that has seen them unbeaten in 10 league games and 13 in all competitions, winning 11 of those encounters and currently riding a six-game winning streak.

All of NEC’s last eleven matches have seen both teams score and feature at least three goals, underlining their attacking approach.

The two sides have met 85 times previously, with NEC winning 27, drawing 20 and losing 38, while Utrecht claimed a narrow 1-0 victory in the reverse fixture earlier this season and the hosts have managed just two wins from the last 12 meetings between the teams.

Winless since mid-December, FC Utrecht make the trip to Nijmegen hoping their recent positive record at the Goffertstadion can inspire them to end an eight-match winless run, despite seven of those games ending in defeat for Ron Jans’s struggling side.

The Domstedelingen are enduring a miserable campaign and have now failed to win any of their last nine league matches, most recently suffering a narrow 1-0 home defeat to Feyenoord.

Utrecht have managed just one victory from their last 15 games in all competitions, have slipped to 13th in the Eredivisie table and sit only seven points above the relegation zone, leaving them at serious risk of being dragged into a relegation battle unless results improve quickly.

January proved particularly painful for Jans’s men as they failed to win any of their five matches to start 2026, extending a run of six consecutive defeats when including their final game of 2025, although February offered slight encouragement with a hard-earned draw away to Heerenveen.

That stalemate marked the first time in over a month that Utrecht avoided defeat, with their last victory coming on December 17 when they beat TOP Oss 2-0 in the second round of the KNVB Beker.

NEC Eredivisie form:

NEC form (all competitions):

FC Utrecht Eredivisie form:

FC Utrecht form (all competitions):

Team News

NEC welcomed back defender Bram Nuytinck on Saturday after the centre-back returned to action following 10 months of rehabilitation from a serious cruciate ligament injury.

Schreuder remains without 19-year-old goalkeeper Freek Entius despite the youngster recently signing a new contract until the summer of 2027.

Utrecht will be without Spanish striker Rodriguez, who is suspended after receiving two yellow cards and a red card against Feyenoord.

The visitors are also dealing with an extensive injury list that includes Souffian El Karouani, Zidane Iqbal, Sebastien Haller, Siebe Horemans, David Min, Victor Jensen and Mike Eerdhuijzen.

NEC possible starting lineup:

Gonzalo; Dasa, Sandler, Kaplan; Pereira; Sano, Proper, Onal; Chery, Linssen, Lebreton

FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:

Barkas; Vesterlund, Didden, Van der Hoorn, El Karouani; Bozdogan, Engwanda, Zechiel; Karlsson, Alarcon, De Wit

We say: NEC 3-0 FC Utrecht

NEC are clear favourites on Wednesday thanks to their home advantage and outstanding recent form, and while they must overcome a psychological hurdle against an opponent that has troubled them in recent meetings.

Utrecht arrive short on confidence and look ill-equipped to cope with a high-flying side pushing for European football, leading us to expect a convincing home victory.

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