NEC Nijmegen host FC Groningen in Eredivisie matchday 10 action at the Goffertstadion on Sunday.

Dick Schreuder's side arrive full of confidence after ending an eight-match winless run with a 4-2 victory away to Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League, while Dick Lukkien's Groningen are looking to bounce back from a 5-2 home defeat to Ajax.

Match preview

NEC sit 12th in the Eredivisie table with 10 points from nine matches, a modest return built on two wins, four draws and three defeats.

Domestic form has been stuck in a run of stalemates, with 1-1 draws against Go Ahead Eagles and at Ajax either side of a 2-2 draw with Fortuna Sittard, in which Tjaronn Chery's stoppage-time equaliser rescued a point after NEC had trailed by two goals.

The mood shifted on Thursday when NEC claimed their first win in Europe since the 2008-09 UEFA Cup, beating Dinamo Zagreb 4-2 at the Maksimir stadium, with captain Chery scoring twice and further goals from Bryan Linssen and Clement Bischoff.

That result built on Schreuder's achievement of guiding NEC to third place last season on 59 points, the best finish in the club's history, a campaign that opened the door to European football for the first time in 17 years.

Chery leads the goalscoring charts with four Eredivisie goals in nine appearances, though three have come from the penalty spot, while Linssen, last season's top scorer with 11 goals, has managed just one in the league so far.

Forward Kaj Sierhuis, signed on a free transfer from Fortuna Sittard over the summer, has shown visible frustration at being left out of recent matchday squads, warming up against Levski Sofia without ever being sent on.

Groningen occupy seventh place with 14 points from nine matches, their 22 goals scored the fourth-highest tally in the division.

Lukkien's side have swung between extremes in recent weeks, following a 5-1 away win at Excelsior with a 5-2 home reversal against Ajax that left them without a clean sheet in six matches.

Van Bergen and Brynjolfur Willumsson share the Eredivisie's joint-top scorer standing with six goals apiece this season, giving Groningen two genuine attacking threats on their trip to Nijmegen.

David van der Werff has supplied the service for both, leading the squad with three assists and a team-high five big chances created.

Groningen have scored 13 goals in their last five league matches alone, a return that underlines why this remains one of the division's most watchable attacks despite the defensive concerns behind it.

NEC Eredivisie form:

NEC form (all competitions):

Groningen Eredivisie form:

Team News

Schreuder remains without centre-back Bram Nuytinck, who continues to recover from ankle surgery, and Philippe Sandler, who has been troubled by a separate injury.

Emre Mor suffered a relapse in his recovery from a groin injury in the build-up to the Zagreb trip, though Schreuder said on Wednesday that he expects the winger available again this weekend.

Dusan Tadic, who picked up a calf injury against Levski Sofia and missed both the Fortuna Sittard draw and the Zagreb win, has also been ruled out of the Groningen match, with Schreuder instead targeting next weekend's trip to Heerenveen for his return.

Winger Ayodele Thomas remains out of the matchday squad for disciplinary reasons stemming from a pre-season training-camp incident in Spain, an exclusion that has now kept him out of four straight squads, adding to the selection puzzle for a NEC side that has conceded in each of its last 15 matches.

Centre-back Ahmetcan Kaplan, who spent much of October easing back from injury, played the full 90 minutes in Zagreb and should be available again.

For the visitors, Lukkien confirmed on Friday that Tyrique Mercera and Elvis van der Laan will all miss the trip to Nijmegen, with defenders Rijk Janse and Malcolm Jeng, the latter nursing an Achilles problem, already long-term absentees.

Lukkien is expected to otherwise stick with the same XI that started the 5-2 defeat to Ajax, with Hans Hateboer continuing at left-back and Jacob Ondrejka again preferred on the left of the front three.

NEC possible starting lineup:

Crettaz; Fonville, Schuurs, Kaplan; Storm, Bischoff, Nejasmic, Geiger; Lebreton, Chery; Linssen

Groningen possible starting lineup:

Vaessen; Schreuders, Blokzijl, Rente, Hateboer; De Jonge, Clement; Van der Werff, Van Bergen, Ondrejka; Willumsson

We say: NEC 2-1 Groningen

NEC have won six and lost three of the last 10 meetings between these two clubs, with the reverse fixture at the Euroborg in May ending 2-1 to Groningen.

Momentum from Thursday's win in Zagreb, allied to home advantage and Chery's continued sharpness in front of goal, gives NEC the edge.

Groningen arrive with a point to prove after conceding five at home to Ajax, and Lukkien's attacking trio should cause problems again, but expect NEC's freshly restored belief to just about outweigh a Groningen side yet to find defensive stability of its own this season.

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