NAC Breda will host Ajax at the Rat Verlegh Stadion in Breda on April 25, 2026, with kickoff scheduled for 2:00 PM ET, and Lewis Holtby will miss the match through injury.
The numbers underline why this fixture matters. NAC sit 17th in the Eredivisie and have taken two points from their last five league matches — two draws and three defeats — scoring five goals and conceding eleven in that span. Those results include a 0-0 draw with Sparta Rotterdam the week before April 12 and a 1-1 draw with Fortuna Sittard on April 12. The run also contains a heavy March defeat, a 6-0 loss at Go Ahead Eagles. Ajax, by contrast, sit fifth in the table and come into Breda with two wins, one draw and two losses from their last five, including a 4-0 victory over Sparta Rotterdam in March and a 3-0 away win at Heracles on April 11, though they also lost to Twente and suffered a defeat to FC Groningen in the recent stretch.
For viewers in the United States the match will be available live on Select. The clash has clear weight at both ends of the table: NAC are deep in relegation trouble and need points at home, while Ajax are still pushing for a strong finish to the season from their fifth-place position.
Injuries and suspensions sharpen the stakes. NAC will be without Lewis Holtby and Luca Greiml through injury. Ajax face absences as well: Kenneth Fitz-Jim, Davy Klaassen, Vit Jaros and Jaden Heerkens are all sidelined, and Takehiro Tomiyasu is suspended for the trip to Breda. Those absences reshape selection options for both sides and will affect how each coach approaches the match tactically.
The tension in this game is straightforward and immediate. NAC enter with two points from five and a plus-minus of minus six across those matches, including their 6-0 reverse in March; their recent draws have been low on goals. Ajax have shown they can produce dominant wins — 4-0 and 3-0 in two of the recent fixtures — but their two losses in the same five-game window expose a vulnerability beneath the headline results. The nac vs ajax match therefore pits a home side desperate for steadiness against an away team capable of high-scoring performances but not immune to slip-ups, and both squads will have to recalibrate around the names missing from their lineups.
What happens next matters beyond a single result. A home victory would give NAC a rare three points that could alter the immediate relegation picture; a win for Ajax would consolidate their position as they chase a strong finish from fifth place. The suspension of Tomiyasu and the list of injured Ajax players mean the visitors will not arrive at full strength, while NAC’s own absences reduce their margin for error at the Rat Verlegh Stadion. The match therefore functions as a pressure test: can NAC convert meagre recent returns into a momentum-shifting performance at home, or will Ajax’s mixture of form and firepower prove decisive even when weakened?
The answer arrives on April 25 at 2:00 PM ET, live on Select, and it will shape narratives at both ends of the Eredivisie table — whether NAC can climb out of immediate danger or whether Ajax will take another step toward a strong season finish despite intermittent setbacks.
