NEC Nijmegen hosts Roda in the semifinals of the Dutch Eredivisie relegation playoffs. The match will be played on Thursday, May 20th at Goffertstadion (Nijmegen)
NEC Nijmegen has often been promoted to the Eredivisie in recent years. But the Tricolors have not managed to gain a foothold at the elite level. After spending two consecutive seasons in the top division in 2015-2017, the club returned to Eerste Divisie. And the third consecutive year in a lower tier was not so successful. NEC scored 66 points in 38 rounds and allowed Volendam to take 6th place due to additional indicators. However, the 7th position was enough to start in the playoffs for the last ticket to the top division. On May 6, Nijmegen unexpectedly managed to beat Almere that finished much higher. Although Bruijn didn’t convert a penalty at the beginning of the match, the Tricolors managed to hammer the opponent with a 0-4 score.
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Roda made a great noise at the end of the last century, when it managed to win two cups in four years. But after that, there were many failures. In 2018, the Pride of the South once again left the Dutch elite division. And it was ranked 17th in the previous season and even risked being relegated to a lower tier. In the summer, the bosses appointed a new mentor, Jurgen Streppel. Under his management, the team sharply stepped up. There was no threat to be relegated this time. Roda earned 57 points and finished in 8th position, having a serious lead over the nearest neighbor Excelsior. But few expected that the Pride of the South would be able to beat De Graafschap in the first round of the playoffs. After all, the latter gave the 2nd place in the regular season to Go Ahead Eagles only because of additional indicators. Moreover, De Graafschap played at home and won the 1st half after conceding the first goal. However, Goppel netted a double after the break and secured a sensational 2-3 victory.
Roda beat NEC Nijmegen back in 2016. Then the team played seven head-to-head matches, and only in November last year, the Pride of the South gained a draw in Nijmegen. But NEC took revenge after the New Year, defeating the opponent away (1-3). Now NEC will play at home, and it is capable of repeating that success. We are waiting for the hosts' victory.
Prediction for the match: Nijmegen to win
