Noah Naujoks will lead SBV Excelsior as they host FC Utrecht at Stadion Woudestein on Sunday, 26 April 2026, in a match that could tell two very different stories about each club’s season.
Excelsior arrive in the Eredivisie relegation play-off spot in 16th, winless in five league games and carrying a defence that has conceded 51 goals while scoring 31. The club sit on 31 points and have dropped from a position near Europe at the end of 2025 to a fight to avoid the drop in 2026; their recent run reads like a warning sign — one win from 14 attempts and seven defeats in eight in stretches this season.
Utrecht head to Rotterdam in markedly stronger form. Seventh in the table and chasing a push toward Europe, they would move to 47 points with a win and close to sixth place. Utrecht have won three of their last four league matches, beat Telstar 4-1 in their last outing and already recorded a 4-1 victory at Excelsior in August 2025. Their attack has produced 49 league goals and their defence 36, with seven clean sheets to show for the season.
The weight of numbers points toward Utrecht: Souffian El Karouani has supplied 10 assists in the league, Gjivai Zechiël has eight league goals, and Jesper Karlsson has come off the bench to score in back-to-back matches. For Excelsior, Noah Naujoks has eight league goals and remains their most reliable scoring outlet in a team that has struggled to replace long-term form with results.
Context deepens the stakes. Excelsior have not beaten Utrecht in 12 meetings in all competitions since October 2015, yet they are unbeaten in three of the last four home meetings between the sides — a paradox that underlines just how fine the margins can be in Rotterdam. Utrecht have edged recent fixtures overall and arrive as the more consistent side this calendar year, but the Woudestein crowd has lately proved stubborn for visitors.
The match is complicated by absences on both sides. Excelsior will be without Mathijs Tielemans, Stan Henderikx and Miliano Jonathans; Jonathans and Hamdi Akujobi are out long-term with anterior cruciate ligament injuries, and Henderikx and Tielemans are set to miss Sunday’s game. Jerroldino Bergraaf, who made the bench last time out, could return to the matchday squad.
Utrecht’s squad list is stretched too. Nick Viergever, Sebastian Haller, Michael Brouwer, Victor Jensen, Miguel Rodríguez, Oualid Agougil, Emirhan Demircan and Jaygo van Ommeren are all absent. Jensen has not featured since 18 January because of a knee injury; Demircan is carrying a hamstring problem and Van Ommeren a back issue. Those gaps trim Utrecht’s depth even as their form has been solid.
The tension here is simple: Excelsior need goals and points to climb clear of the bottom three, yet they must do it against a side that has been efficient both scoring and keeping clean sheets. Utrecht can boost a European push and move closer to sixth with a victory, but they must maintain momentum without several first-team options. The fixture’s recent history — Utrecht dominant overall but Excelsior resilient at home — means the outcome is far from preordained.
If Excelsior fail to find another source of goals beyond Naujoks, their slide looks likely to continue; if Utrecht cope with their absences and El Karouani keeps supplying chances, they will arrive at season’s end in a stronger position. Either way, Sunday’s Excelsior vs Utrecht is a match that will reshape immediate hopes: survival for one, a sharper European bid for the other.
