NEC Nijmegen will host Go Ahead Eagles on Thursday in a crucial one-legged playoff match. The winner will face either FC Utrecht or Sparta Rotterdam, vying for a place in the Europa Conference League qualifying rounds for the next season.

NEC Nijmegen have had a notable season, finishing sixth in the Eredivisie, which marks their highest top-flight finish in over two decades. They matched their points record from the 1971-72 season (53 points) after a convincing 4-1 victory against Almere City in their final regular-season match. Goals from Kodai Sano, Dirk Proper, Koki Ogawa, and Tjaronn Chery highlighted NEC's attacking prowess as they secured their 14th league win of the season. Under Rogier Meijer’s guidance, NEC have improved significantly, recording six more wins than the previous campaign. Now, just two more wins would secure them a spot in the Conference League qualifiers.

NEC have not competed in European competitions since the 2008-09 season, where they were eliminated by Hamburger SV in the UEFA Cup. Meijer, who will serve a one-match touchline ban, aims to lead NEC back to Europe. They will be confident, having beaten Go Ahead Eagles 2-1 in their last home encounter in January.

Go Ahead Eagles finished the regular Eredivisie campaign inconsistently, with only two wins in their last 10 matches. However, their 2-1 victory against FC Volendam in their final match showed resilience, with goals from Philippe Rommens and Enric Llansana. Despite their patchy form, they secured a ninth-place finish, improving on last season’s 11th-place.

Rene Hake's men aim to qualify for European competition for the first time since the 2015-16 season. Historically, their European appearances have been sparse, with their last being in the 1965-66 Cup Winners' Cup.

NEC are still having to cope without Bart van Rooij and Philippe Sandler who are nursing hamstring injuries, while Yvandro Borges Sanches (ACL) and Bas Dost (heart condition) remain long-term absentees. Bram Nuytinck is available to return after serving a one-match ban last weekend and he is set to push for a recall at the heart of defence, while the rest of Meijer's lineup could remain intact.

As for Go Ahead Eagles, Mats Deijl missed last weekend's game due to a knee injury and the defender is not expected to recover in time for Thursday's fixture. Luca Everink is therefore set to continue at right-back, joining Jamal Amofa, Gerrit Nauber and Bas Kuipers in the back four, while there are unlikely to be too many changes, if any, in midfield or attack, with Oliver Valaker Edvardsen and Victor Edvardsen, who have scored 17 goals between them this term, expected to continue in the final third. This playoff is expected to be a closely-fought encounter between two evenly-matched teams. NEC have shown solid form and resilience, especially at home, while Go Ahead Eagles have had a more inconsistent run. Given NEC’s recent attacking displays and home advantage, they might just edge this contest.

NEC奈梅亨将在周四主场迎战Go Ahead Eagles，这是一场关键的单回合季后赛。胜者将面对乌得勒支FC或鹿特丹斯巴达，争夺下赛季欧联杯资格赛的席位。

NEC奈梅亨有一个引人注目的赛季，在荷甲联赛中排名第六，这是他们20多年来在顶级联赛中的最高成绩。他们在最后一场常规赛中以4-1大胜阿尔米尔城，追平了1971-72赛季的得分纪录(53分)。佐野Kodai, Dirk Proper, koi Ogawa和Tjaronn Chery的进球凸显了NEC的进攻能力，他们获得了本赛季联赛的第14场胜利。在罗杰·梅杰的指导下，NEC取得了显著进步，比上一届多赢了6场。现在，只要再赢两场就能确保他们进入西部联赛预选赛。

NEC自从2008-09赛季在联盟杯上被汉堡SV淘汰后就没有参加过欧洲比赛。梅耶尔将被禁赛一场，他的目标是带领NEC重返欧洲赛场。他们将充满信心，在1月份的最后一次主场比赛中以2比1击败了前进的老鹰队。

鹰队在常规赛中表现不稳定，在最近的10场比赛中只取得了2场胜利。然而，他们在最后一场比赛中2-1战胜了弗伦丹队，凭借菲利普·罗马门斯和恩里克·兰萨纳的进球，他们表现出了韧性。尽管他们的状态参差不齐，但他们还是获得了第9名，比上赛季的第11名有所提高。

雷内·哈克的球队目标是自2015-16赛季以来首次晋级欧洲赛场。从历史上看，他们很少出现在欧洲赛场上，上一次是在1965-66年优胜者杯。

NEC在没有范鲁伊和桑德勒的情况下仍然需要应对，他们都在治疗腿筋受伤，而博尔赫斯·桑切斯(前交叉韧带)和巴斯·多斯特(心脏疾病)仍然长期缺阵。布拉姆·努伊廷克在上周末被禁赛一场后可以回归，他将在后防线的核心位置被召回，而梅耶的其他阵容将保持不变。

至于雄鹰队，马茨·德伊尔因膝伤错过了上周末的比赛，预计他不会在周四的比赛中及时康复。因此，卢卡·埃弗林克将继续担任右后卫，与贾马尔·阿莫法、格里特·纳伯和巴斯·库伊珀斯一起担任四后卫，而中场和进攻端如果有任何变化的话，也不太可能有太大的变化，本赛季共进17球的奥利弗·瓦莱克·爱德华森和维克多·爱德华森预计将继续留在最后三名。预计这次季后赛将是两支势均力敌的球队之间的激烈交锋。NEC表现出了稳定的状态和弹性，特别是在主场，而前进的老鹰则有更不稳定的运行。考虑到NEC最近的进攻表现和主场优势，他们可能会在这场比赛中占据优势。