- 1 NEC Nijmegen vs Groningen: seventh against 12th, and only one of them scoring freely
- 2 NEC Nijmegen: a 4-2 win in Zagreb, two Eredivisie wins in nine
- 3 Groningen: Van Bergen and Willumsson share the scoring lead, the defence hasn’t kept a clean sheet in six
- 4 Free Football Prediction: NEC Nijmegen vs Groningen
- 5 About our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About visuals
NEC Nijmegen vs Groningen: seventh against 12th, and only one of them scoring freely 
Groningen sit seventh in the Eredivisie with 14 points from nine games. NEC are 12th on 10, and the four-point gap hides how differently the two sides got there: Groningen have scored 22 league goals, the fourth-highest total in the division, while NEC have won two league matches all season.
The game kicks off at the Goffertstadion on Sunday 25 October at 13:30 UK time, with Martin van den Kerkhof refereeing. It’s Matchday 10, and NEC play it less than three days after their best night of the European campaign.
That night came on Thursday in Zagreb. NEC won 4-2 at Dinamo, with Clement Bischoff scoring after 25 minutes, Bryan Linssen heading in before the break and Chery adding two more in the second half. It was their first win in this season’s Europa League, after a 5-0 defeat at Juventus and a 1-1 home draw with Levski Sofia.
Their league results haven’t kept pace with that. NEC’s last five Eredivisie games went 2-2 against Excelsior, 0-3 at Cambuur, 1-1 against Go Ahead Eagles, 1-1 at Ajax and 2-2 against Fortuna Sittard on 18 October. Four draws and a heavy defeat, and they’ve conceded in each of their last 15 matches in all competitions.
Groningen arrive off a 5-2 home defeat to Ajax on the same weekend. Before that they’d put five past Excelsior away from home and three past PEC Zwolle, and their last five league games have brought them 13 goals. They had no midweek fixture and have named the same starting XI for three matches running.
The market makes NEC favourites at 2.30, with the draw at 3.80 and Groningen at 2.80. I’m not convinced the home side have earned that billing on their league form.
NEC Nijmegen: a 4-2 win in Zagreb, two Eredivisie wins in nine 
NEC finished third last season with 59 points, the highest finish in the club’s history. Nine games into this campaign, they’ve won two league matches, drawn four and lost three.
Chery has done most of the scoring. He has four Eredivisie goals in nine appearances, three of them from the penalty spot, and both of his goals in Zagreb came from open play. Linssen, who scored 11 league goals last season, has one so far.
The defence worries me more than the attack. NEC have conceded in 15 straight matches, and they’ll again be without Bram Nuytinck, who is recovering from ankle surgery. Philippe Sandler is also out with a separate injury, which leaves Perr Schuurs and Ahmetcan Kaplan as the likely centre-backs; Kaplan played the full 90 minutes in Croatia.
Dusan Tadic is ruled out with a calf problem. Ayodele Thomas has been left out of a fourth straight matchday squad for disciplinary reasons, and Emre Mor is a doubt after a groin relapse, so Dick Schreuder’s options in the wide areas are thinner than he’d want with Thursday’s travel still in the legs.
The head-to-head gives NEC something to lean on. They’ve won six of the last ten meetings, including 6-0 at the Goffert in November 2024 and 2-0 there in November 2025. Groningen won the most recent one, 2-1 at the Euroborg on 10 May.
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Groningen: Van Bergen and Willumsson share the scoring lead, the defence hasn’t kept a clean sheet in six 
Two Groningen forwards share top spot in the Eredivisie scoring chart. Van Bergen and Willumsson have six league goals each, which accounts for 12 of the side’s 22.
Van der Werff is the supply line. He leads the squad with three assists and five big chances created, working off the right of a front three with Willumsson through the middle and Ondrejka on the other flank.
The 5-1 at Excelsior on 11 October and the 3-0 against PEC Zwolle showed what this attack does to defences that leave gaps behind them. Ajax returned the favour a week later, scoring five at the Euroborg in a 5-2 win.
That defeat stretched Groningen’s run without a clean sheet to six league games. Tyrique Mercera and Elvis van der Laan miss this trip, while Malcolm Jeng, out with an Achilles problem, and Rijk Janse are long-term absentees.
Away from home they’ve won 5-1 at Excelsior and drawn 1-1 at Go Ahead Eagles. I’d trust them to score at the Goffert, where NEC have kept nobody out for weeks, far more than I’d trust them to keep a clean sheet.
Probable lineup NEC Nijmegen: Crettaz; Fonville, Schuurs, Kaplan; Storm, Bischoff, Nejasmic, Geiger; Lebreton, Chery; Linssen
Probable lineup Groningen: Vaessen; Schreuders, Blokzijl, Rente, Hateboer; De Jonge, Clement; Van der Werff, Van Bergen, Ondrejka; Willumsson
Free Football Prediction: NEC Nijmegen vs Groningen
Our prediction: Groningen or draw (double chance X2) at 1.57
NEC haven’t won any of their last five Eredivisie games, they’ve conceded in 15 straight matches, and they played a full Europa League game in Croatia on Thursday night. Groningen had the week off, have scored 13 times in five league outings and keep picking the same eleven.
The case for NEC rests on six wins from the last ten meetings, the lift from Zagreb and Chery’s reliability from twelve yards. Those count for something in a tight game, but a side that has drawn four of its last five league matches isn’t one I’d back at 2.30.
Double chance Groningen or draw at 1.57 covers both the draw NEC keep producing and the away win Groningen’s front three can deliver. Anyone after a bigger price can take Groningen to win outright at 2.80.
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