- Team form: NEC Nijmegen have failed to beat Telstar in their last home matchup (Eredivisie 2025/2026).
- Recent form: Telstar have won 4, drew 1, and lost 5 of their last 10 matches across all competitions.
- NEC form: NEC Nijmegen have lost 3 of their last 5 competitive matches.
NEC not unstoppable favourites at De Goffert
NEC are a big 1.44 favorites for their Eredivisie home game against Telstar on Saturday, but the visitors are more than 3 times those odds and the draw looks too long at 4.85.
Telstar have had a much tougher time of things in this campaign with Henk Brugge, who took charge of the club on 1 July 2026, sticking to a solid, compact 3-4-2-1/3-4-3 which allows them to slow the game, block the middle. This game plan is designed to frustrate NEC, who are a front-foot team, so we could see a much closer game than the odds suggest.
NEC boss Dick Schreuder has also been in charge of the Nijmegen club since 1 July 2025 and has set up his team to play a similar system, albeit with a high-tempo counter-press and wing-backs that do allow them to stretch the game in a way that Telstar does not. Telstar will look to frustrate the Eredivisie side by keeping a compact shape and pressing selectively while the Nijmegen team will look to unlock the Telstar block with the pace and passing of their two wide players and the quick switches they can create in the half-spaces when playing 3-4-2-1.
Telstar’s grit and recent form have value
NEC have won 3, drawn 1 and lost 3 of their 7 home games across all competitions, but they have failed to win in 2 at home and this run has seen their form take a turn for the worse with 3 defeats in their last 5. Telstar have won 2, drawn 1 and lost 4 of their 7 away games across all competitions, leaving them open for the taking on Saturday.
NEC's recent form across all competitions is 3 wins, 2 draws and 5 defeats, which doesn't look good enough for a side that should be taking this one comfortably. Telstar, on the other hand, have won 4, drawn 1 and lost 5 of their previous 10 matches, so they have boom-or-bust potential to cause a shock result on the day.
Go for goals and back Telstar to not be intimidated
Attacking threat
NEC's front-foot 3-4-2-1, however, makes them vulnerable to a counter if they can't break through Telstar's stubborn block.
- NEC are favourites to win the match and have scored 16 goals in their 7 home matches across all competitions this season, so they have enough firepower to ensure that this will be a relatively high-scoring game.
- Telstar have scored 12 in 7 away games this term, which suggests they'll come with enough bite to nick a goal at some point.
- Soufiane Hetli is Telstar's most prolific player in front of goal, with 3 goals in 5 appearances, and he has scored 3 times in the visitors' last 5 games, which have seen them net 8 times, so we're going for a 2-2 correct score bet.
Key player and intimidation
The Eredivisie club have lost their two most recent matches and were beaten 0-1 at home by SV Elversberg, while they lost 1-2 to Sevilla FC, also at this ground, so Telstar's recent record against them and stubborn, cagey performances in their recent away fixtures suggest they won't be intimidated by the top-flight hosts.
