- NEC Nijmegen have won two, drawn one and lost two of their last five Eredivisie 2024/2025 matches, losing 1-0 to SC Heerenveen last time out.
- Willem II Tilburg have lost five consecutive matches and have failed to take a single point from their last five Eredivisie 2024/2025 fixtures.
NEC Nijmegen have the players and the tools to topple Willem II Tilburg in the Eredivisie 2024/2025 this Saturday, with the hosts’ home advantage and superior form likely to be enough to secure the win. NEC are 13th in the Eredivisie 2024/2025 table with 33 points from 30 games, while Willem II are 16th with 24 points after a dismal run of five straight defeats. Rogier Meijer’s side have been a solid, but unspectacular outfit since he took over at the helm in June 2020, preferring to control games with structured buildup play, technical midfielders and overlapping full-backs. The home side will be looking to control this fixture and they have the attacking talent to do so in the form of top scorer Vito van Crooij, who has bagged nine goals in 22 Eredivisie 2024/2025 appearances, and has three in his last five for NEC. Magnus Mattsson is the creative midfielder who provides the service for the Dutchman, while the rest of the team are solid enough to keep the ball and frustrate the visitors.
Willem II Tilburg, on the other hand, are a reactive side who sit back and defend in numbers, waiting for the odd chance to break forward and counter with pace and precision. Captain Freek Heerkens is the organiser in the backline, and he will be tasked with marshalling his troops against an NEC side who will try to pin them back. Peter Maes’ side have been woeful on the road this season, winning just three, drawing three and losing nine of their 15 away matches in Eredivisie 2024/2025, scoring just 12 times. Maes has been in charge since September 2023 and his pragmatic style has not been able to stop the alarming slide of Willem II, who enter this fixture having lost five straight matches and failing to register a single point from their last five.
NEC are a better side than Willem II and they are unbeaten in their last two at home, so the bookmakers’ odds of 1.6 for the hosts to take the win are not too tempting. However, Willem II are 5.8 to win the match, which is a huge price for a side that are in the midst of a terrible run of results. A bet on ‘NEC Nijmegen to win to nil’ looks a tempting option, given Willem II have failed to score and have a dreadful away record.
