Excelsior v NEC Nijmegen: top-three push meets relegation fight | OneFootball

Excelsior host NEC Nijmegen in the Eredivisie at Stadion Woudestein on Saturday, 4 April 2026, with the visitors defending a Champions League qualification spot and the hosts trying to haul themselves away from the relegation play-off place.

NEC Nijmegen are third on 50 points while Excelsior sit 16th with 27. The reverse fixture finished 5-0 to NEC in August, underlining the scale of the task for the Rotterdam side.

Excelsior halted a run of four straight league defeats with a draw at Heracles last time out. NEC have momentum from a league run of wins over PSV and Volendam followed by a draw with Heerenveen.

Excelsior list Calvin Raatsie, Lewis Schouten, Miliano Jonathans and Jerolldino Bergraaf as injured. NEC report injuries to Jasper Cillessen, Gonzalo Cretazz, Brayann Pereira, Deveron Fonville and Freek Entius.

NEC have scored 69 league goals at 2.5 per game with 56% average possession, supplying 419 open-play crosses at 20.29% accuracy. Bryan Linssen and Tjaronn Chery have nine league goals each, with Kodai Sano on seven assists. Excelsior average 1.0 goal per game, 29 in total, and have conceded 47. Noah Naujoks leads their scoring with eight. The visitors' delivery and 10 headed goals could trouble the hosts, who may need to be clinical with fewer chances.

A win would move Excelsior to 30 points and could pull them closer to safety. Victory for NEC would take them to 53 points and strengthen their grip on the top three and Champions League qualification.