N.E.C. Nijmegen face FC Groningen at home in the Eredivisie this Sunday, 25 October. The match at the Goffertstadion kicks off at 14:30 local time and is the tenth round of the season. The team prepares for this fixture following a 2-2 draw against Fortuna Sittard on Sunday 18 October, in which Kevin Kers and Willum Thor Willumsson found the net.
Their last result was a 2-2 draw at home to Fortuna Sittard last Friday, with Kevin Kers and Willum Thor Willumsson on the scoresheet. Their last five league matches have yielded zero wins, four draws and one defeat. This run of zero wins, four draws and one defeat also includes the 1-1 draw with Levski Sofia on Thursday 15 October, featuring a goal from Tjaronn Chery, and the 1-1 draw with Ajax on Saturday 10 October.
Recent Form
Groningen have shown two faces in the past week. They suffered a heavy 2-5 home defeat to Ajax, but prior to that won 5-1 away at Excelsior. This inconsistency contrasts with N.E.C.'s stable but frustrating pattern of draws. The Nijmegen side also drew 1-1 with Ajax and 1-1 with Go Ahead Eagles earlier this season. The sequence began with a 3-0 defeat at Cambuur on Saturday 12 September and a 5-0 defeat at Juventus on Thursday 17 September.
Lineups
Against Fortuna Sittard, N.E.C. started in a 3-4-2-1 formation. Goalkeeper G. Crettaz played behind a defence of T. Storm, A. Kaplan and Deveron Fonville. Kevin Kers and D. Nejašmić formed the midfield pivot, with Jamiro Monteiro and N. Lebreton providing attacking support. B. Linssen led the line.
Groningen deployed a 4-2-3-1 system against Ajax. E. Vaessen was in goal, with H. Hateboer and M. Rente in defence. The creative duties fell to T. van Bergen and J. Ondrejka, with B. Willumsson as the central striker. Whether both managers stick with these setups on Sunday is not yet clear. The fixture presents N.E.C. with an opportunity to finally break their draw streak. First, however, the team faces a Europa League away match against Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday 22 October.
