Aiming to keep their faint title hopes alive in the remainder of the season, Feyenoord will welcome NEC to Stadion Feijenoord on Sunday afternoon in the Eredivisie.
The Pride of the South are back in competitive action following a friendly against Mainz, while NEC were handsome victors in the KNVB Cup during their last fixture.
Match preview
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Before a 2-1 friendly success over Bundesliga outfit Mainz to start the New Year, Feyenoord recorded back-to-back wins across the Eredivisie and KNVB Cup to sign off a title-winning 2023, beating Utrecht 2-1 in the latter competition on December 20 thanks to goals from Calvin Stengs and Igor Paixao.
The Pride of the South collected six points from a possible nine in the month of December courtesy of wins over Volendam and newly-promoted Heracles, but it was the home defeat against league leaders PSV Eindhoven which defined the period, leaving Arne Slot's men slacking in the title race.
Feyenoord are currently second in the Eredivisie standings, 10 points behind a flawless PSV outfit after 16 matches, although contests with NEC and bottom side Vitesse give Sunday's hosts a brilliant opportunity to earn six points before welcoming third-placed FC Twente to Stadion Feijenoord on January 28.
In Mexican striker Santiago Gimenez, Slot possesses arguably the best attacking player in the division, with the 22-year-old managing 18 goals in his opening 16 league matches, a tally only AZ Alkmaar's Evangelos Pavlidis can match at this stage in a gruelling Eredivisie term.
After winning the Dutch title last season, Feyenoord have found themselves fighting on the continental stage this campaign, and by finishing third behind Spanish giants Atletico Madrid and Lazio in their Champions League group, the Pride of the South will face Jose Mourinho's Roma in the playoff round of the Europa League next month.
Following consecutive mid-table finishes in the last two years, NEC are targeting a place in the Europa Conference League playoff this campaign under the leadership of Rogier Meijer, who guided his men to four-straight victories across all competitions to end 2023 on a significant high.
Last time out saw the Nijmegen-based club run out 6-1 winners at third-tier outfit GVVV Veenendaal in the second round of the KNVB Cup, with Roberto Gonzalez netting a brace, while Dirk Proper, Elayis Tavsan, Magnus Mattsson and Koki Ogawa also got onto the scoresheet to complete the trashing.
NEC are occupying eighth position in the top-tier table, two points ahead of ninth-placed Heerenveen outside of the Conference League playoff zone, meaning there is plenty of work to be done in the remaining 18 games to have a chance of achieving a remarkable European berth.
Since joining from Danish side Silkeborg in the summer of 2021, 24-year-old Mattson has developed into one of NEC's most influential attacking players, and the midfielder has nine Eredivisie goals to his name after just 16 league matches in 2023-24 - one more than he managed in the previous two campaigns combined.
Team News
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Feyenoord are without the services of midfielder Ramiz Zerrouki, with the 25-year-old on international duty for Algeria at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Bart Nieuwkoop has not featured for Sunday's hosts since November 25 due to a muscle injury, and the right-back is a doubt for this weekend's clash.
Slot did not make an alteration during his side's most recent Eredivisie win, and we are expecting an unchanged team for the Dutch champions, meaning Gernot Trauner and David Hancko will continue at centre-back.
NEC are without Mees Hoedemakers for the next two matches after he received his marching orders in the handsome win over Fortuna Sittard on December 15.
Bas Dost continues to take time away from competitive football after collapsing in the match against AZ Alkmaar in late October, so Ogawa should lead the line once again.
Brayann Pereira played five league matches at the start of the term before picking up a knock in September, and the young Frenchman has not featured since.
Feyenoord possible starting lineup:
Bijow; Geertruida, Trauner, Hancko, Hartman; Wieffer, Timber, Dilrosun, Stengs, Paixao; Gimenez
NEC possible starting lineup:
Cillessen; Van Rooij, Sandler, Nuytinck, Verdonk; Proper, Schone, Tavsan, Mattsson, Hansen; Ogawa
We say: Feyenoord 3-0 NEC
Feyenoord know they might have to be perfect in the second half of the season to catch PSV, and we are expecting Slot's side to earn a win on Sunday.
NEC are in the race for a top-eight spot but are likely to find their hosts too strong at Stadion Feijenoord in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Carter White
