Heerenveen v Heracles Almelo
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Friday 18th March – 7:00PM KO
Both of these sides sit lower mid-table in the Eredivisie with exactly the same win, loss, draw records. Heerenveen’s run without a win is now into double figures – 10 games – and sacking Jonny Jansen six games ago has clearly had no impact.
What’s disappointing from a Heerenveen perspective is the lack of goals – 22 from 26 league fixtures. In the past, Heerenveen were always a go-to for over 2.5 goals. However, despite all this, I think they will get either a win or a draw here. Heracles have ony won two points from twelve on the road.
It was an emotional return for Joost van Aken last Saturday; he completed his first 90 minutes for almost two years. He was the extra centre-back as Heerenveen became the latest Eredivisie outfit to turn to a back five. It does keep them solid enough, but they lose even more in an attacking sense. Sydney van Hooijdonk looks isolated, and winger Anthony Musaba looks like he has been one of the flops of the season. If Heerenveen can find a goal from somewhere, this might be an important three points before relegation worries become more severe
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Prediction: Under 2.5 Goals, 1.65 on Betfair (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Go Ahead Eagles v Cambuur
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Saturday 19th March – 5:45PM KO
Go Ahead come into this still looking down the table. Can they keep it tight against the league’s fifth-highest scorers? On the other hand, Cambuur’s open style will suit the Eagles’ forward players (because of the space they leave), and you have to fancy them to score at home to what is also the league’s worst defence.
Cambuur played a high press on Ajax in the second half of last Friday’s encounter, which they ultimately lost in the last minute when they dropped deep to cling on to a point that their second-half performance deserved. They went direct to Tom Boere’s physicality. That won’t work as well against Go Ahead’s low-lying defence since there will be too many defenders to win the second balls.
Cambuur also have to contend with the fact their manager Henk de Jong is not able to lead the team out until next season due to ill health. He has been in and out of the dug-out at matches for a while now, and you could suggest that Cambuur’s early-season form has dropped off since de Jong’s limited involvement with the side. Let’s hope de Jong can re-gain his health in time for the next campaign.
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Prediction: Both Teams to Score, 1.65 on Betfair (⭐️⭐️⭐️)
FC Twente v PEC Zwolle
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Saturday 19th March – 7:00PM KO
This will be a really tough match to PEC Zwolle, who go away to high-flying Twente. As I have been mentioning recently, Twente have been improving as the season has gone on. They have been creating many opportunities against the league’s lesser sides, and last weekend they notched a very different kind of victory away to fourth-placed AZ – Ron Jans’s men now sit level on points with the Alkmaar side.
Had this game been in Zwolle, I would have backed Joseph Oosting’s side to get something. Oosting has transformed PEC’s season – going from adrift at the bottom to being back in the mix for survival. Under old manager Art Langeler, the players averaged 8.1 sprints per match compared to 9.6 under Oosting; not only is the squad trying harder, but they are also creating more: 1.18 expected goals per game now compared to 0.93 at the beginning of the campaign.
We all know that surprises can happen in football, but Twente have only lost to Ajax in their last fifteen league fixtures. Another home win keeps them on course to gatecrash the top four whilst AZ still contend with European matches in their busy schedule
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Prediction: FC Twente to Win 1.37 on Betfair (⭐️⭐️⭐️)
NEC Nijmegen v Sparta Rotterdam
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Saturday 19th March – 8:00PM KO
Despite being down to ten men for much of their last game, NEC were the better side away at Groningen, where they ended up losing 4-3 thanks to two late goals. Whilst I’m not expected another high-scoring encounter here, the Nijmegen side showed some good football at times and looked more dangerous than they had been in weeks previous.
Sparta ground out a 1-0 win over Go Ahead, using all their grit and determination to stay in the game for long periods and scoring from a free-kick. If you include the suspended match with Vitesse, then Sparta have kept three clean sheets in their last four.
I believe that Sparta could edge another result in Nijmegen. Whilst you could argue that Sparta have the second-worst away record in the Eredivisie, NEC have the second poorest at home. Even if NEC get a win, they’re going to find it hard to play against a rejuvenated Sparta, so a handicap is a safe way of backing the visitors to show once again that they are up for the relegation fight and that outgoing manager Henk Fraser still has some of that magic that led the Rotterdam side to an impressive top half finish last season.
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Prediction: Sparta Rotterdam +1, 1.44 on Betfair (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
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