De Graafschap v Almere City

The Superboeren face off in a home game against second bottom-ranked Almere City in the Eerste Divisie on Friday night. This has a home win written all over. De Graafschap are looking to end a small streak of two games without winning but I can see them perform well here and manage exactly that. De Graafschap have won half of their games played in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie this season so far. Almere City meanwhile have appointed a new manager and Alex Pastoor has not particularly hit the ground running. Almere City are bottom of the league if we look at away games played. They have won and drawn just twice and have lost seven games in total, allowing a league-worst 26 goals against and have lost six of their last seven away games played. Their first match under Alex Pastoor’s management saw them lose to Jong PSV in a 5-1 away loss. They also lost 4-0 at home to Roda JC last week.

De Graafschap should be winning this, but I don’t expect a very high score. They have scored just over 1.5 goals per game on average (34 in 22) and have scored just three goals in their last four league games played. De Graafschap’s leading scoring Joey Konings (6 goals) is doubtful. Jeffry Fortes is unavailable as he is at the African Cup with Cape Verde.

Almere City’s match squad is a bit of a mystery at the moment. Not so much due to injuries, but who will manager Pastoor pick? He selected a completely different back four comparing the game against Jong PSV and Roda JC. The inclusion of Joey Jacobs is a logical one, they have just signed the defender and we can consider him as a starter from now on, but it looks like he is giving plenty of players a chance.

Further, in 12 historical league meetings, De Graafschap have never lost hosting Almere City. They’ve booked 10 wins and 2 draws. Almere City vs De Graafschap saw De Graafschap book a 2-1 away victory as well.

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Roda JC v ADO Den Haag

I fancy Roda’s chances here. Both sides are in excellent form, but ADO have taken a bit of a hit as they played in a cup game on Tuesday. They faced off in an away game against Eredivisie side RKC. ADO went 2-1 up and saw a 2-2 scoreline after 90 minutes. They crumbled in extra time though and were eliminated by a 4-2 RKC win. Manager Ruud Brood rested a few players as the match progressed but I do expect a few tired legs and ADO don’t have the most experienced squad available. Therefore, I see Roda ending ADO’s impressive streak.
Both Boy Kemper and Jamal Amofa, who are key defenders were substituted during the game against RKC Waalwijk are doubtful. Backups Cain Seedorf and Tyrese Asante are also doubtful which could leave their backline quite thin and exposed. I expect Roda to continue their great streak. They beat Almere City 4-0 away from home the last match and have now built up an undefeated streak of seven league games; winning four and drawing three.

Roda have also gone unbeaten in their four last home games, winning twice. They also managed to keep their opponents scoreless on two occasions. I see them winning here as well an ending ADO Den Haag’s 8 game winning streak. Benjamin Bouchouari also returns after facing a suspension. He will most likely get a starting role again, with already 21 matches played. ADO Den Haag did beat Roda JC earlier this season, booking a 2-0 win in Den Haag

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Emmen v NAC Breda

Struggling NAC faces off against in form Emmen. Meanwhile, Heerenveen are trying to buy star player Thom Haye. NAC want more money, but he could be on his way out. NAC have loaned Naoufal Bannis from Feyenoord which should mean a little extra firepower from upfront. Bannis already showed this in the cup game against PEC Zwolle on Thursday as he scored a goal. Kay de Rooij secured the win at home over PEC Zwolle later on in the game; with NAC winning 2-1. They have now qualified for the quarter-finals.

Emmen saw their previous match against Helmond Sport postponed, as Helmond had too many Covid cases. This means the Emmen squad is well-rested. Emmen have won three straight and four of their last five games played. They have also suffered defeat just once in the last eleven matches they played.

Moreno Rutten is doubtful for NAC, after sustaining an injury in the game against PEC Zwolle. Backup Ruben Ligeon should normally do a reasonable role filling in at the right-back position. The aforementioned star player Thom Haye is also suspended, I expect NAC to struggle with his absence. NAC have failed to win their last four league games and have bagged only two goals. Main striker Ralf Seuntjens and backup Mario Bilate are also unavailable.

In thirteen meetings on Emmen soil, it has seldom been a high-scoring affair. The last meeting was a sensational 5-4 away win for the Promotion/Relegation Playoffs back in May 2021, but only twice in the twelve meetings before have we seen more than 3 goals scored.

Goals could be a bit hard to come by again, as FC Emmen are without their leading goalscorer Jeredy Hilterman who has scored 8. The side have managed to score 32 goals in 21 league games, and just 8 goals from their last six league games, so they might continue booking low score wins. Jasin Assehnoun and Rui Mendes are ready to play though and the wingers/inside forwards have combined for 11 goals

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MVV v Volendam

We find a clash between a struggling home side and a strong, in-form away side who are challenging for the title here.

The Maastricht side have lost four in a row and have failed to win any of their last seven league games. Furthermore, MVV have failed to win their last five home games, drawing twice and losing thrice in the league. They have managed to score just three goals in these matches as well.

Meanwhile, Volendam lead the league. They have secured 49 points from their 22 games played and haven’t lost any of their last 20. They need one more game without losing to equal their historical record.

Volendam have also scored a league-best 52 goals. On top of this, Volendam are undefeated away from home, winning six and drawing five times.

Clint Essers and Rico Zeegers face a suspension after picking up too many yellow cards for MVV. Essers has played in 15 games and is a starter. Zeegers is a backup but has appeared in 10 games so far. Volendam miss Brian Plat and John Murkin, who we can consider starters, but Volendam have a deep squad and have plenty of alternatives. I don’t see this as an issue in the game against MVV, which I expect them to be winning. Historically Volendam have lost just one of their last seven meetings in Maastricht, and the sides drew 2-2 last season. We have to go back to 1971 and close to 40 meetings ago to find a 0-0 scoreline, historically this would mean we can expect at least a goal.

Robbert Mühren will also line up, the league’s second-best scorer at the moment takes the penalties as well so he is always an option to look at. He has scored 20 goals so far.

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FC Den Bosch v FC Eindhoven

Den Bosch vs Eindhoven is one of the Brabant derbies and always one to look out for. There’s a rivalry yet it’s also not too intense. It should be an interesting game. FC Den Bosch are struggling, yet they do not have a bad side. FC Eindhoven are doing quite alright, higher up in the table. Historically FC Den Bosch do well hosting FC Eindhoven. I expect both sides to score in this match up.

FC Den Bosch have failed to win their last six league games and have lost two straight at home. They have won 6 of 11 though (no draws). Overall they have scored just 26 goals in their 22 league games with a maximum of 1 goal in six of their last eight. They do miss Roy Kuijpers who earnt himself a transfer to RKC during the winter break, who is still their leading scorer with 9 goals. Fellow striker Jizz Hornkamp should normally be the one scoring the goals now, but he has managed to score only 5 in 18 games so far. (20 goals last season)

FC Eindhoven have failed to score in 6 of their away games played. FC Eindhoven did beat Jong Utrecht 4-0 last match, with both key player Joey Sleegers and Jort van der Sande scoring. They have combined for 19 of their 38 goals.

Starting back Gaston Salasiwa will likely not feature for FC Den Bosch while Valentino Vermeulen faces a suspension for FC Eindhoven, he had appeared in all games and is a useful player playing from the right wingback position. FC Den Bosch have lost just one of their last nine matches hosting FC Eindhoven. The two recent meetings saw a 1-1 full time draw.

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