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Almere City FC - NEC
Netherlands Cup - Yanmar Stadion
8th Round
* Betting odds were correct at the time of publication but are subject to change.
Eerste Divisie side Almere play host to Eredivise NEC on Wednesday 11th January with a place in the third round at stake.
Almere vs NEC: Our top betting tips
NEC arrive into this game as favourites to win. Will the prove the bookies right by seeing off the challenge of lower league Almere? Find out with our Almere vs NEC match preview with free tips, predictions and odds mentioned along the way.
Contents
Almere to win
In terms of the Dutch footballing pyramid, NEC are the side most people expect to win this game. We, however, don't see things that way and are backing Almere to win the match. NEC are not in amazing form right now and, especially on the road, are actually quite poor. They have only won once in seven games on the road whilst losing three of the last four. Almere meanwhile are in a great run of form on their own patch. They've lost two of 10 games in front of their own fans but, more notably, they're unbeaten in five having won four and drawn one. On top of that, these two sides have faced off a few times over the years; three of the last four head to head clashes have seen Almere come out on top.
Both teams will score
Our next tip for this match sees us backing both teams to score goals. NEC have seen both teams score in each of their last four games whilst they, in particular, have found the net with real ease; they've hit 10 goals across those aforementioned four outings. Almere meanwhile have seen both teams score in three of their last five outings and Almere have bagged quite a few in that period – well 10 to be precise. With both teams averaging a minimum of two goals scored per game in recent weeks and with neither water tight defensively, an end to end game with both teams scoring is very plausible.
Here are the key stats & form guide for Almere vs NEC
Head to Head
15/05/21
Netherlands Eredivisie Play-Offs Netherlands
Almere City FC
NEC
0
4
02/04/21
Netherlands Eerste Divisie EER
Almere City FC
NEC
2
0
20/09/20
Netherlands Eerste Divisie EER
NEC
Almere City FC
0
1
13/12/19
Netherlands Eerste Divisie EER
NEC
Almere City FC
2
3
20/07/19
Europe Friendlies Europe
Almere City FC
NEC
2
2
Last Five - Almere City FC
20/01/23
Netherlands Eerste Divisie EER
De Graafschap
Almere City FC
2
2
D
15/01/23
Netherlands Eerste Divisie EER
Willem II
Almere City FC
0
1
W
11/01/23
Netherlands Cup Netherlands
NEC
Almere City FC
4
0
L
06/01/23
Netherlands Eerste Divisie EER
PEC Zwolle
Almere City FC
3
2
L
30/12/22
Europe Friendlies Europe
FC Groningen
Almere City FC
0
2
W
Last Five - NEC
25/01/23
Netherlands Eredivisie Netherlands
Feyenoord
NEC
2
0
L
21/01/23
Netherlands Eredivisie Netherlands
FC Emmen
NEC
1
3
W
15/01/23
Netherlands Eredivisie Netherlands
Vitesse
NEC
0
0
D
11/01/23
Netherlands Cup Netherlands
Almere City FC
NEC
0
4
W
08/01/23
Netherlands Eredivisie Netherlands
Ajax
NEC
1
1
D
So, that gives you some insight to how the different bookmakers see the action unfolding. How though do the bookies odds translate into probabilities ahead of this game? Let's find out.
Almere odds: 2/1 (3.00) – 33%
Draw odds: 12/5 (3.40) – 29%
NEC odds: 9/8 (2.13) – 47%
As you can see from the above betting odds, bookies clearly favour NEC to come out on top in this game but they're stopping short of ruling out an Almere win hence the odds of 2/1 (3.00). The total goals market is another one that leaves the bookies a tad unsure of where to go; when focussed on the over/under 2.5 goals betting option both ‘over' and ‘under' are priced south of the evens (2.00) mark; they are, however, leaning towards ‘over'.
Check out the predicted lineups ahead of Almere vs NEC
Almere
Almere are an entertaining side to watch and they're unlikely to change their approach for this game too dramatically. They do give goals away but have a load of goals in their side as well with multiple players capable of threatening in the final third. We see them lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Predicted lineup – Bakker (GK), Barbet, Akujobi, van Bruggen, Royo Castell, Post, Pena, Alhaft, Hilterman, Smeets, Pascu
NEC
In the eyes of anyone that holds a realistic view, NEC are destined for a mid table finish in the Eredivisie this season, which means they should be going gung-ho at a competition like this one. A trip to Almere is very much a winnable one and we foresee a strong starting XI, which will probably fall into a 4-3-3 formation.
Predicted lineup – Cillessen (GK), van Rooij, Marquez, Sandler, El Karouani, Schone, Tannane, Proper, Tavsan, Dimata, Mattsson
Starting Lineups
*Starting lineups are usually announced one hour prior to kick off.
Player to watch
If Almere are to win this game then they'll need to be clinical in front of goal. That's where Jeredy Hilterman comes into play. The 24-year-old has scored four goals in his last four games and with 11 league goals to his name for the hosts already. it's fair to say he knows where the net is.
A quickfire FAQ on Almere vs NEC
- Where is the match being played? – Yanmar Stadion
- Who do the bookmakers have as favourites? – NEC
- What time does the match kick off? 7 PM GMT