NEC Nijmegen v Omonia Nicosia: Europa League preview

The occasion and the table

NEC Nijmegen host Omonia Nicosia in the UEFA Europa League, with kick-off at 17:45 on 5 November 2026. Three matches into the league phase, the visitors sit above their hosts, and the gap between them is only two points.

NEC Nijmegen are 20th in the table with 4 points from 3 matches. Their record reads 1 win, 1 draw and 1 defeat, with 5 goals scored and 8 conceded. Omonia Nicosia are 11th with 6 points from their 3 matches, built on 2 wins, 0 draws and 1 defeat, with 5 goals scored and 4 conceded.

The two sides have scored the same number of goals in the competition, so the difference in their positions comes down to what has happened at the other end. With NEC Nijmegen looking to make up ground in the table, a home fixture against a side just above them carries clear significance.

Recent form and home/away records

NEC Nijmegen arrive on the back of a 0-1 defeat away to Heerenveen. Before that, they drew 2-2 at home to Groningen. Before that came their standout result of the run, a 4-2 win away to Dinamo Zagreb. Earlier still, they drew 2-2 at home to Fortuna Sittard, and before that they shared a 1-1 home draw with Levski Sofia. That adds up to 1 win, 3 draws and 1 defeat from their last 5 matches.

At home in the UEFA Europa League this season, NEC Nijmegen have played 1 match, drawing it, with 1 goal scored and 1 conceded.

Omonia Nicosia come into the match after a heavy 1-4 home defeat to Benfica. Before that, they won 3-0 away to Celje. Before that, they beat Celta Vigo 1-0 at home, and earlier still they won 4-2 at home against Sint-Truiden. Before that, they lost 0-1 away to Sint-Truiden. Their last 5 matches therefore produced 3 wins, 0 draws and 2 defeats.

The Benfica result means Omonia Nicosia travel needing to respond, while NEC Nijmegen will be looking to turn a sequence of draws into a positive result in front of their own supporters.

How the two sides tend to play

The numbers point to NEC Nijmegen as a side whose matches tend to be open. In their last 5 matches they scored in 4, but they kept a clean sheet in none of them, and both teams scored in 4 of those games. Two 2-2 draws and a 4-2 away win underline that pattern, while 8 goals conceded in 3 UEFA Europa League matches suggests defensive solidity has been harder to find than goals in this competition.

Omonia Nicosia's figures show a slightly different profile. They also scored in 4 of their last 5 matches, but they kept 2 clean sheets, against Celje and Celta Vigo, and both teams scored in only 2 of those 5 games. Their 4 goals conceded in 3 UEFA Europa League matches is half NEC Nijmegen's total.

That contrast frames the contest: two sides who have found the net with similar regularity, with the visitors holding the stronger defensive record on the evidence of these figures. The 1-4 loss to Benfica, however, shows that Omonia Nicosia can also be opened up.

Estimated win chances

Estimated win chances drawn from market data, computed by goal888 with the margin removed, put NEC Nijmegen on 54%, the draw on 22% and Omonia Nicosia on 24%. These figures are estimates derived from market data, not a prediction of the outcome.

With the sides separated by just two points after 3 matches, the meeting at 17:45 on 5 November 2026 offers both an important opportunity to shape their position in the UEFA Europa League table.

Calculated from market prices, not a prediction or betting advice.