Maastricht vs NEC Nijmegen Predictions

NEC have been a revelation since Ron de Groot stepped into the managerial hotseat a few weeks ago, and the Nijmegen outfit confirmed their Play-off place last Friday with a superb 4-0 success over champions Twente at Goffertstadion. Their opponents were somewhat under par after sealing their immediate return to Eredivisie just a few days prior, but the win was nonetheless emphatic and marked NEC’s fifth league victory on the spin since de Groot took charge. With the Play-offs looming, NEC will want to prolong their excellent run when they visit De Geusselt this Friday night.

And few will back against de Groot’s men doing just that – especially as hosts MVV are now out of contention for a top ten finish following last week’s 4-1 hammering away to Cambuur. Ron Elsen’s side have now won just two of their last 11 league games, and all in all it’s been a pretty dreadful run in for the Maastricht club who were in control of a Play-off place just a few weeks ago.

NEC will go into May’s promotion shoot-out as one of the favourites based on their recent form, which has all been sparked by their managerial change. They were languishing down in 15^th at the beginning of March, but 15 points from a possible 15 since Ron de Groot replaced Jack de Gier has seen them leap all the way up to 8^th in the standings.

Last week’s aforementioned routing of Twente backed up victories against RKC (2-1), Volendam (2-3), Helmond Sport (3-2) and Jong PSV (1-2), and along with Almere City they go down as one of the key teams to avoid for everyone else over the next month or so.

Crucially, NEC are now demonstrating why they were rated contenders for automatic promotion before a ball was kicked this season – and it even looks as though their renowned travel sickness has been cured.

They were poor on the road throughout last season despite finishing 3^rd, and up to April 1 they had bagged just four away wins from 16 outings this term.

Back to back away successes will have done the Nijmegen outfit the world of good, and they will head to De Geusselt this Friday brimming with confidence.

MVV have been indifferent at best on home soil this season with six wins, five draws and seven defeats posted from 18 games, and we expect their campaign to fizzle out with a whimper on the final evening.

NEC look in great nick with further improvement still possible, and they can avenge December’s 0-1 reversal against MVV with a decisive win on Friday.