NEC Nijmegen vs Excelsior Prediction 08.09.2026 | Eredivisie

Following their historic, third-place finish last term, NEC have launched their new league campaign with a mixed bag of results, registering two victories and two defeats. Dick Schreuder’s men have been flawless on the road, pocketing a maximum of six points, yet they have paradoxically slumped to consecutive defeats right in front of their home crowd at the Goffertstadion.

The latest blow was delivered by Feyenoord, who showed their class on Saturday to escape with a clinical 3-1 triumph. This domestic setback arrived just days after the Nijmegen-based outfit suffered an agonizing aggregate defeat against Bodo/Glimt, cruelly shattering their dreams of a spot in the Champions League league phase.

While NEC have flashed impressive firepower by hammering home nine goals, they have leaked seven times across their opening quartet of Eredivisie fixtures, failing to record a single clean sheet. However, they will draw immense confidence from their recent absolute dominance over Tuesday’s rivals, having dismantled Excelsior in their last three meetings, including last season’s 5-0 home destruction and a 2-0 shutout in Rotterdam.

On the injury front, Turkish defender Ahmetcan Kaplan is still chasing his first minutes of the campaign as he continues to nurse a nagging knee injury. Adding to Schreuder's selection headaches, defensive anchor Philippe Sandler remains a major doubt after picking up a minor knock of his own.

While they were utterly humiliated and hit for five during their last visit to the Goffertstadion, Excelsior’s current form strongly dictates that they will be a far more formidable roadblock this time around. The Rotterdam-based outfit have pocketed a brilliant nine points from a possible 12, arriving ahead of this mid-week clash sitting proudly in fourth place.

Ruben den Uil’s men launched their campaign with a thunderous 4-0 demolition of Cambuur, with their solitary blemish coming against reigning champions PSV Eindhoven in a razor-thin 2-1 defeat. They bounced back instantly, edges past city rivals Sparta Rotterdam 2-1, before routinely dismantling Willem II last Saturday with a convincing three-goal clean sheet.

Consequently, the Kralingers have ruthlessly breached opposition defenses 10 times in just four rounds, while asserting total dominance on the road with two devastating away victories and a staggering 7-0 aggregate scoreline. Although this marks their ultimate litmus test on foreign soil so far, the visitors have absolutely no reason to abandon the fearless, attack-minded blueprint that has yielded one of their best league starts in recent history.

Despite spearheading his side to that roaring 4-0 opening-day triumph over Cambuur with a spectacular brace, Noah Naujoks has since vanished from the pitch for undisclosed reasons. Should he fail to feature on Tuesday, he will remain the visitors' solitary absentee.