Den Haag have only played two matches so far and have obtained four points. They’ve been involved in two high scoring contests and are the only team in the entire division with a 100% hit rate on over 2.5 goals. Their 5-1 demolition job of Willem II was very impressive, before a 2-2 draw v Jong Utrecht. Luka Reischl has started the campaign especially impressively, with two goals and an assist. Den Haag look full of goals and even won 3-0 in a friendly v PEC Zwolle last week.

Helmond got off to a poor start when they lost 1-3 against Roda, but they managed to pick up a surprising point against one of the favourites to win the league, RKC Waalwijk (1-1) in their next match. They actually won the xG battle 0.78 to 1.48, which was quite a big surprise.

Things are getting better for Helmond after a 2-0 win v Emmen last Friday, that match had a combined xG of 3.99, so the trends so far with Helmond indicate goals.

It was a poor start to life in the second tier for Willem II, with a 1-5 loss to Den Haag and a 0-1 defeat to FC Eindhoven. They conceded a massive 37 shots in those two games and that trend continued last week, when they conceded another 18 attempts, yet somehow beat Almere City 1-0.

Willem II had just two shots in that entire game, but the result should deliver them more confidence. The big underlying problems in defence can’t be ignored though, even as a 1.33 favourite here. This is a great chance for them to rack up a comfortable victory, although another win to nil can’t be relied on with their defensive numbers. Over 2.5 goals looks like an good bet based on the matchups.

FC Emmen have started disastrously with 1-3, 1-4 and 0-2 defeats. From a defensive perspective, they’ve been awful, conceding 47 shots, 21 on target and a combined xGA of 6.71. They are quite simply in horrible form, and now face a tough fixture v Den Bosch.

The visitors travel here with a 100% record after two impressive wins of 2-0 and 5-2. This is their first away match of the season, but they should head into the match with confidence. Their 5-2 victory v Oss last week was mightily impressive, with 30 shots, 10 on target and an xG of 4.20. Attacker Ilias Boumassaoudi scored a hat-trick and they should kick on from that performance and result. Over 2.5 goals looks a good bet here.