Heracles Almelo vs NEC Nijmegen Best odds and tips

Heracles Almelo will be a tough nut to crack for NEC Nijmegen in the mid-table Eredivisie clash on Sunday with the home side holding the advantage in the head-to-head record. Heracles have won three of the last four meetings between the clubs, including a 1-0 home win in this season’s KNVB Cup. Heracles sit 12th in the 2024-2025 Eredivisie table with 38 points after 32 matches, just one more than 13th-placed NEC. Erwin van de Looi has been unable to steady the ship since taking over as manager in December 2023 as the Almelo club have slipped down the table after a strong start to 2025. He saw his side beat Willem II 2-1 away from home only three days ago to break a two-game losing streak and will be looking to build on that result here. NEC produced the shock of the Eredivisie season when they beat Ajax 3-0 in Amsterdam only a day later, so there’s plenty of momentum to carry into this clash.

Rogier Meijer’s side are a well-organised unit that can frustrate opponents with their discipline and hit them with pace when they get the ball. Heracles are more of a cautious side themselves, but have been caught out by some of the better attacking teams in recent weeks and could be exposed again by an NEC side full of confidence. Luka Kulenovic leads the scoring for Heracles with nine Eredivisie goals in 22 appearances and provides a constant threat up front, while Jizz Hornkamp has scored two of Heracles’ last five goals in a purple patch. Vito van Crooij is NEC’s main attacking weapon with nine goals in 24 Eredivisie appearances this season. Heracles are 2.74 to win this home game and are only marginal favourites against NEC, who are 3.50 to take the draw. Given the inconsistent form of both sides, with Heracles winning two, drawing one and losing two of their last five Eredivisie games and NEC winning two, drawing one and losing two, we’re going to take the draw at a bigger price. Both teams to score looks like it could also offer value with NEC averaging 0.81 goals per game away from home and conceding 1.31 goals per game while Heracles have scored 1.75 goals per game at home.