The strong Tukkers are currently fourth and are coming off a heated match in the preliminary round of the Champions League against Manchester United. The team earned its place in the preliminary round after its exceptional third place last season. At Old Trafford they achieved an overwhelming result by drawing against Erik ten Hag’s team.
FC Twente returns to its own Grolsch Veste on Sunday. Here, shots are usually fired with live ammunition. Sem Steijn currently leads all attackers in the Eredivisie with six goals. At his side is also Sam Lammers who – via PSV and after wanderings in Italy, Germany and Scotland – is also back in the top 10 of goalscorers with three goals. The duo is so accurate that renowned goalscorers such as Van Wolfswinkel and Vlap regularly find themselves on the bench. The scoring ability is controlled from the flanks by the lightning-fast Van Bergen and Rots.
For NAC, the long journey to Enschede means another tough job. In Rotterdam, coach Hoefkens’ men fought hard, but the PhD student was unable to create many real opportunities. A penalty gave the yellow-blacks the final blow. Just like Feyenoord in De Kuip, FC Twente also has a great home reputation. NAC must be extremely aware of the strength and quality of the home team and play with its head and heart in the east of the country.
Things are now running smoothly at FC Twente. The formation dropped some points in the first three competition rounds, but won the last two matches by a large margin without conceding any goals. Trainer Joseph Oosting has his sights set on approaching the Top 3. NAC will try to be an annoying obstacle in the way.
The FC Twente – NAC match is led by referee Martin van den Kerkhof and his adjutants Richard Polman and Nils van Kampen.
