Another positive round in the Eredivisie picking up an additional +3.17 units bringing the season total to +13.30 units. The fourth round is knocking on the door with FC Utrecht and NEC not coming into action over the weekend, but still eight games to choose from. Let's take a look…..
Vitesse – ADO Den Haag, 22 August 2009 18:45 CET
Vitesse remains without a win this season after the 1-0 defeat on the road to SC Heerenveen last Saturday. The team played a decent game but once again did not manage to find the net with Kolk (att) and Nilsson (att) failing to net the equalizer after an early opener from the hosts. In the second half Vitesse grabbed some more control of the game but despite a handful of possibilities and two good chances the team remains on one scored goal in three games. Vitesse will host ADO Den Haag on Saturday looking for their first win of the season, but with the absence of goals this may be very hard to accomplish. Verhaegh (def) is expected to remain sidelined for the game against ADO Den Haag after picking up a groin injury while second and third goalkeeper Graafland (gk) and Van der Sman (gk) are not expected to be fit in time.
ADO Den Haag suffered their second home defeat of the season losing 0-1 to FC Twente. Last season the hosts were total outplayed by a strong FC Twente and with this fresh in their memories ADO Den Haag started the match with a lot of hard fouls. Within five minutes two yellow cards were issued and this clearly had its impact on the visitors who did not manage to create a lot of chances. In the second half it was FC Twente opening the score and with ADO Den Haag trying to force their way to the equalizer in the last fifteen minutes of the game, the hosts did not succeed and dropped to the 15th place in the ranking. ADO Den Haag will welcome back Van den Bergh (mid) and Soltani (att) from suspension for the game against Vitesse while also Waterman (gk) seems recovered and able to play. Rankovic (mid) and Knopper (mid) will remain sidelined with long-term injuries.
Odds for Vitesse can be found around $1.73 but given the fact the team really seems to have a problem in finding the net -scoring only once in their last three games- puts me off a little. ADO Den Haag will welcome back Soltani (att) and Van den Bergh (mid) which will bring back speed and creativity in the team and I can see ADO scoring on the break here. Taking Van den Bergh (mid) to score anytime above $4.00 might seem worth taking, but at this point this game is a not bet for me.
NO BET
Willem II – Heracles Almelo, 22 August 2009 19:45 CET
Willem II suffered their second defeat of the season last Sunday losing 2-1 on the road to Sparta Rotterdam. The visitors knew a good start of the game and the presence of Kargbo (def) and Boutahar (mid) on the midfield clearly made a difference. After thirteen minutes the visitors translated their supremacy into a goal with Biemans (att) scoring his first goal of the season. In the second half Willem II gave away their lead within five minutes with the hosts scoring twice halfway the second half. Willem II tried to force their way to the (would have been) deserved equalizer but Mourad (att) saw his effort bounce back from the post in the dying minutes of the game. Willem II will host Heracles Almelo on Sunday and will most likely still be without Akgun (mid), Demouge (att) and Schenkel (def). Freire (mid) will remain sidelined with a hamstring injury and is not expected to return for another six weeks.
Heracles Almelo dropped to the ninth place in the ranking after losing 0-1 at home to Feyenoord last Sunday. The hosts started aggressively looking to repeat their performance against AZ (3-2) from two weeks ago, but Overtoom (att) found the Feyenoord goalkeeper on his way to glory. In the second half both teams went looking for the winning goal in which Feyenoord was the luckiest twenty minutes from time. Heracles Almelo will travel to Tilburg on Saturday to meet Willem II and Verbeek will have a fully fit selection at his disposal apart from the long term injured Steur (att).
This seems typically a game that can go either way and it's hard to judge at this point what the strength of both teams are. Willem II played a good game against Vitesse (3-1) and a decent game against Sparta (2-1) but failed to impress in their game against FC Utrecht. Heracles played a very good game against AZ (3-2), but were nothing more than average in their games against Feyenoord (0-1) and NAC Breda (0-0). With Willem II having the home advantage it's hard to see them lose if they are able to keep the pressure on Heracles Almelo who will most likely have a defensive approach to this game. With odds above evens for the home win I will try my chances on the home side with small stakes.
Willem II to win $2.34 (2/10) (Betfair)
VVV Venlo – FC Groningen, 22 August 2009 20:45 CET
VVV Venlo kept their undefeated record last Sunday drawing 2-2 on the road to FC Utrecht with once again Honda (mid) finding the net. The visitors grabbed the lead very early in the first half with Calabro (att) opening the score after an assist from Honda (mid). Ten minutes later FC Utrecht leveled the score and the hosts grabbed the lead ten minutes into the second half. However, once again the creativity and scoring power of Honda (mid) was underestimated with FC Utrecht leaving the revelation of the season with too much space on the midfield and from the edge of the box Honda (mid) scored his fourth goal of the season with VVV Venlo grabbing their third consecutive draw. The team will host FC Groningen on Sunday and VVV Venlo will be able to field their strongest selection with only Timisela (def) being doubtful after picking up a leg injury/
FC Groningen recorded a 1-2 defeat at home to NAC Breda last Sunday with the team remaining in the lower regions of the ranking. Once again the team did not manage to impress although the hosts managed to prevent NAC Breda from creating any huge chances. Shortly before halftime it were the visitors taking the lead after a razor sharp counter attack leaving the FC Groningen defense toothless and seven minutes into the second half a corner kick was poorly defended allowing NAC Breda to double their lead. In the final fifteen minutes of the game FC Groningen finally seemed to wake up putting more pressure on the goal of the visitors and eight minutes from time Van de Laak (att) managed to pull one goal back. However, the hosts were unable to score the equalizer and picked up their second defeat in three games. FC Groningen will travel to VVV Venlo on Saturday and the team will be without the suspended Holla (mid) who picked up a red card against Roda JC while Luciano (gk), Andersson (mid) and Garcia (att) are not expected to be fit in time.
The confidence of VVV Venlo is increasing by the week especially after drawing on the road to both FC Utrecht and PSV. FC Groningen seems to have a motivational problem and the way they played against NAC Breda won't help them much in collecting points. Honda (mid) is the man in form for VVV Venlo and odds for the home win can be found around $2.70 on the exchanges and the 1X option around $1.55. Given the current form of the teams, their confidence and the possibility for VVV Venlo to field their strongest selection, once again I can not see FC Groningen grabbing a win here.
VVV Venlo not to lose $1.53 (6/10) (Betfair)
Ajax – Sparta Rotterdam, 23 August 2009 14:30 CET
Ajax suffered their first defeat of the season despite scoring three goals on the road to PSV last Sunday. The visitors opened the score very early in the first half with Suarez (att) picking up the ball from Isaksson (gk) to put it behind the blundering PSV goalkeeper. Five minutes later Ajax could have taken a 0-2 lead but Suarez (att) chipped the ball just inches wide of the goal. Eight minutes from halftime PSV leveled the score from a free kick, but two minutes later Suarez (att) fired Ajax back into the lead. Two quick goals in the second half from the hosts put Ajax on the wrong side of the score but Emanuelson (mid) fired the visitors back into the game. Fifteen minutes from time the visitors had to capitulate with PSV scoring the 4-3, a goal that maybe should have been disallowed after a foul on Wielaert (def).
Sparta Rotterdam grabbed their first win of the season last Saturday booking a 2-1 win over Willem II after being one goal down at halftime. In the second half goals from Strootman (mid) and Poepon (att) allowed the hosts to keep the three points in Rotterdam with Poepon (att) scoring his first competition goal since February 2009. Sparta will travel to Ajax on Sunday and the team will most likely still miss Knol (def), Slot (mid) and Goddee (att) while Touzani (mid) also is not expected to be fit in time. Sparta holds a poor record on the road to Ajax losing their last four meetings in Amsterdam conceding 22 goals.
After their defeat against PSV, Ajax will want to get back on track and secure three points against Sparta on Sunday. Looking at the current form, Suarez (att) scoring for fun, the return of Sulejmani (att) in the starting eleven and the poor record of Sparta in Amsterdam, there seems no other outcome than a clear home win.
Ajax to win AH -1.5 (7/10) (Bet365) in a double with FC Twente $1.88
FC Twente – RKC Waalwijk, 23 August 2009 14:30 CET
FC Twente grabbed their second win of the season away to ADO Den Haag to climb to the top of the ranking. After some hard challenges in the first five minutes of the game by an eager playing home side, FC Twente had some troubles in getting the overhand in the first half resulting in only some small chances. Halfway the second half N'Kufo (att) managed to find the net with his 104th goal for FC Twente, taking over an old club record and securing the three points for the visitors. FC Twente will host bottom dweller RKC Waalwijk on Sunday and team manager McLaren will have the disposal of a fully fit first squad with only Parker (mid) and Rukavytsya (att) missing out.
RKC Waalwijk remains without points so far after a 0-6 trashing by AZ last Saturday. The team are at the bottom of the table and quite frankly, I can not see them getting away from there very quickly with another difficult game scheduled this weekend. RKC Waalwijk had not much to bring against AZ with De Ceulaer (att) sitting the game out with an injury and the hosts did not manage to create any threat up front in the first half. With AZ grabbing an early lead the visitors kept control of the game but it took until the second half for the visitors to really take a distance from the hosts. RKC Waalwijk tried to pull one goal back to erase the zero from the scoreboard but failed to do so and the team will travel to Enschede on Saturday with low self esteem. De Ceulaer (att) and Jongsma (mid) are expected to remain sidelined after missing the game against AZ which will have again its impact on the attacking creativity.
You don't have to be a rocket scientist to predict a home win here since the difference in quality in simply too great for the visitors to be able to cause a surprise. Any outcome other than a home win would be an upset so I will be pairing up with the home side and take them as part of a double.
FC Twente to win (7/10) (Bet365) in a double with Ajax AH -1.5 $1.88
PSV – NAC Breda, 23 August 2009 14:30 CET
PSV grabbed their first win of the season in a goal fest against Ajax with the hosts scoring four times. A huge blunder from Isaksson (gk) allowed the visitors to take the lead in the second minute of the game, but a cannon blast from Dzsudzsak (mid) eight minutes from halftime allowed the hosts to level the score. However, two minutes later it were once again the visitors taking the lead to take a one-goal margin into halftime. Goals from Bakkal (att) and once again Dzsudzsak (mid) within ten minutes in the second half brought the hosts into the lead for the first time. However, another quick goal from Ajax leveled the score four minutes later and both teams were given a couple of decent chances to grab the lead. It were the hosts with the most luck with Bakkal (att) netting the winning goal behind the Ajax goalkeeper fifteen minutes from time with PSV grabbing their first three points of the season to climb to the 7th place in the ranking.
Once again NAC Breda showed their amazing efficiency booking a 1-2 win over FC Groningen last weekend. The visitors grabbed the lead shortly before halftime from a razor-sharp counter with De Graaf (mid) drilling the ball behind the FC Groningen goalkeeper. Seven minutes into the second half Kwakman (mid) was allowed to head freely on goal from a corner kick allowing the visitors to take a two-goal lead. In the final fifteen minutes of the game the hosts finally seemed to realize the seriousness of the situation building up the pressure of the goal of NAC Breda and resulting in the connection goal. However, despite the many absentees NAC Breda once again managed to secure the win with the team climbing to the fourth place in the ranking.
Odds for the home win can be found around $1.44 and given the away record of NAC Breda these seem about right. However, with NAC Breda winning their last two away games and having one of the best away records in the league this will be a no bet game for me.
NO BET
SC Heerenveen – AZ, 23 August 2009 14:30 CET
SC Heerenveen grabbed their first win of the season at home to Vitesse with Losada (att) scoring his first competition goal for SC Heerenveen. After thirteen minutes in the first half the new signing opened the score with the hosts looking for their first win of the season after drawing against Roda JC (0-0) and losing 4-1 on the road to NEC. Once again SC Heerenveen did not manage to impress with Vitesse creating a handful of chances to level the score and team manager Sollied remains the favorite among the bookmakers in the sacking race of the Eredivisie. SC Heerenveen will host AZ on Sunday looking for revenge after their humiliating 5-1 defeat in the Dutch Super Cup earlier this season. The hosts will once again quite some missings with goalkeepers Vandenbussche (gk) and Steppe (gk) remaining sidelined. Elm (mid), Smarason (mid) and Djuric (def) are also expected to remain sidelined.
AZ Alkmaar recovered from their poor start of the season by winning their last two games against Sparta (2-0) and RKC Waalwijk (0-6). However, the game against SC Heerenveen will be the second real test of the season with RKC Waalwijk not giving any resistance last week allowing AZ to pick up a huge win. With El Hamdaoui (att) opening the score fifteen minutes into the first half it took until the second half for AZ to get their second goal. Dembele (att) doubled the lead for the visitors and two goals from Martens (att), an own goal from RKC Waalwijk and a goal from substitute Lens (att) led AZ to a comfortable 0-6 win. Team manager Koeman is expected to field the same eleven players on Sunday with Swerts (def) and Pelle (att) still sitting out a suspension after their red card against Heracles Almelo in the opening game of the season. Substitute Van der Velden (att) will most likely remain sidelined with a knee injury.
AZ seems to be back on track and despite the fact RKC Waalwijk failed to put any pressure on AZ in their last game, the team seems to be creating chances easily. Dembele (att), Martens (att) and El Hamdaoui (att) have found their scoring ways again and after the 5-1 win over SC Heerenveen earlier this season, confidence and quality should be enough to pick up three points in Heerenveen at odds above evens. Especially given the fact SC Heerenveen will play a midweek game in Greece for the Europe League on Thursday.
AZ to win $2.25 (5/10) (BetFred)
Feyenoord – Roda JC, 23 August 2009 16:30 CET
Feyenoord recorded their second win of the season against Heracles Almelo (0-1) last Sunday thanks to a goal from Tomasson (att) halfway the second half. Feyenoord played far from great and were quite frankly being given too much with the three points where a draw would have been a better reflection of the game. Feyenoord will host Roda JC on Sunday in a late kick-off and the team will be without Cisse (att) who picked up an injury against Heracles Almelo last weekend. Wijnaldum (mid), Fernandez (def) and Darley (gk) will most likely remain sidelined while Tiendalli (def) will be doubtful with a shoulder injury.
Roda JC picked up their first win of the season last weekend beating NEC 1-0 thanks to a goal from Junker (att) fourteen minutes after halftime. The game was not one of the best to watch with Roda JC trying to find their way through the NEC defense in the first half in which they did not succeed. In the second half NEC was given a good chance to open the score but a blunder from a NEC defender allowed Junker (att) to pick up the ball and net it behind the NEC goalkeeper to score his first goal for Roda JC in the competition. Roda JC will travel to Rotterdam without Gommans (att), Vandamme (att) and De Wree (def) while substitute goalkeeper Tyton (gk) will remain sidelined with a knee injury.
Roda JC remains undefeated in the Eredivisie so far picking up two draws and a win and the team will be traveling to Feyenoord knowing they won their last meeting in Rotterdam 2-3. However, it will be doubtful whether Roda JC will be able to repeat this trick and looking at the odds we can see they are about right with $1.50 being available for the home win. With Feyenoord still struggling and Roda JC getting more confidence by the week, a no bet game for me unless odds will rise above $1.60. Also given the fact that Feyenoord only managed to win two from their last five meetings in Rotterdam makes this a no bet game for me.
NO BET
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