Juventus vs Nijmegen Prediction & Betting Tips (17 September)

Juventus host NEC Nijmegen at the Allianz Stadium in Turin on Thursday, 17 September 2026 (19:00 UTC) in a UEFA Europa League 2026/27 league phase opener, and the Italian giants arrive with an unbeaten start to the new season. Luciano Spalletti's men were held to a 1-1 draw by AC Milan at the weekend after kicking off their Serie A campaign with a 2-0 home win over Parma and a 1-0 away victory at Frosinone, conceding just one league goal in three matches.

The contrast in form could hardly be sharper. Nijmegen's high-scoring but defensively fragile Eredivisie campaign continued with a dramatic 2-2 home draw against Excelsior, a match in which they needed a 90+1' Nathan Lebreton equaliser to salvage a point, and they are conceding over two goals per game. Their away form offers slightly more hope, having won 3-1 at PEC Zwolle in late August, but heavy qualifying defeats to Bodø/Glimt (3-0 and 1-3) exposed real problems against organised European opposition.

For 2026/27, Juventus can field Guglielmo Vicario in goal behind Pierre Kalulu, Bremer, Jhon Lucumi and Zeki Celik, with Manuel Locatelli and Douglas Luiz anchoring midfield behind Francisco Conceicao, Nico Gonzalez and Kenan Alajbegovic in support of Randal Kolo Muani — with Nicholas Woltemade, Edon Zhegrova, Jeremie Boga and Teun Koopmeiners among the attacking options off the bench, though Kenan Yildiz misses out. NEC's expected XI features Gian Cretazz (or Nikolas Polster) in goal, Aaron Kabar, Philippe Sandler, Nathan Lebreton and Gabriel Bras in defence, Koki Saito Kers and Tjaronn Chery in midfield, and Kaj Sierhuis leading the line, with veteran Dusan Tadic and Isak Hansen-Aaroen creative outlets, but Pau Schuurs, Yassin Moslih and Emre Mor are unavailable through injury.

The European odds tell the story: Juventus are overwhelming favourites at around 1.28 to win, with the draw priced near 5.50 and an away win as high as 11.00, while the correct score of 3-0 pays 8.75. Given Juventus' rock-solid defence (one goal conceded in three league games) against a Nijmegen side shipping more than two goals per match, our prediction is a comfortable Juventus 3-0 Nijmegen — under 4.5 goals and Juventus to win to nil look the safest accompanying b