The Rats’ front-line has thus far struggled to perform brightly, but would be gunning to lead from the front in the upcoming encounter to secure all three points against Jan Wouters’ men.
In the fourth round of Dutch top tier, NAC Breda will battle against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/FC-Utrecht-c39237 at Rat Verlegh Stadion on September 1. It will be a treat to watch, as both sides would be gunning to claim a good result.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/NAC-Breda-c39983
The Yellow Army suffered a 5-0 hammering at the hands of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Siem-de-Jong-c33482 breaking the deadlock in the second minute.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Niklas-Moisander-c27919 doubled his side’s advantage nine minutes later, while a Tobias Sana strike made it 3-0 five minute before the half-time break.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Thulani-Serero-c35022 added another in the 49th minute, and De Jong netted his second of the evening minutes before the full time whistle to seal an impressive 5-0 win.
The Rats finished 13th on the league table last term, and John Karelse, the NAC boss, would be keen to guide his side at least to a top-half table finish at the end of the 2012/13 season.
FC Utrecht
The Utreg are heading into the game on the back of a hard fought 1-1 stalemate against PEC Zwolle at Galgenwaard Stadion on August 25. A Edouard Duplan strike moments before the half-time break gave the home side a deserving lead.
However, a poor second-half display from the Utrecht outfit provided enough opportunities to the newly promoted Eredivisie side, who eventually netted the equaliser in the 83rd minute through Darryl Lachman.
The outfit from Utrecht finished 11th on the league table last season. Although, the club started the 2011/12 campaign brightly, their erratic performances after the winter break dropped them down on the league table.
Jan Wouters, the Utreg head coach, has expressed confidence that his side has the quality to compete against the top teams this term, and finish at least in the top eight Eredivisie sides.
Head-to-Head statistics
In their last five head-to-head encounters, NAC have secured three wins, while the Utreg have emerged victorious on two occasions.
Players to watch
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Anthony-Lurling-c6220 – NAC Breda
The 35-year-old attacker has been one of the consistent performers for the Rats for the past couple of seasons, and he will be keen to lead his side’s attack pack from the front.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Nana-Asare-c27291 – FC Utrecht
The Ghanaian midfielder was extremely unlucky not to hit the target in his side’s last Eredivisie game against PEC Zwolle, which ended in a 1-1 draw. The 26-year-old would be keen to add his name to the score-sheet in the upcoming
game, and help his side in claiming all three points away from home.
Prediction
It will be a tough encounter between the two sides. NAC have been struggling to perform on the pitch since the start of the new season, while the Utreg have showed their class away from home against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/VVV-Venlo-c40915 in the second round
of Dutch top flight. Looking at both sides’ recent performances, it seems that the visitors will manage to emerge victorious.
Predicted score-line: NAC 1-2 FC Utrecht
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