Almere City FC vs Roda JC Predictions

Almere City take on Roda JC at Yanmar Stadion this Friday evening in what could be the standout fixture on match day two in Eerste Divisie.

These two clubs clashed in last season’s Play-offs and a 2-1 home success for Almere sealed Roda’s fate as they were relegated from Eredivisie for just the second time in 46 years.

Robert Molenaar’s men will be out to gain revenge this Friday night and back up their impressive home win against defending champions Jong Ajax on match day one.

Roda secured a 2-1 triumph on their return to the Dutch second tier thanks to a brace from German Mario Engels, and the win was fully deserved against a Jong side that lacked sharpness and much end product.

Molenaar’s charges now prepare to take on their first away assignment of the campaign, knowing that they must improve their form and consistency on the road if they’re to challenge for automatic promotion this season and an immediate return to Eredivisie. They lost 11 of their 19 away fixtures in 2017/18, and although the standard of opposition is generally inferior this term, Almere certainly represent a stern challenge.

City made the Yanmar Stadion something of a fortress last season, winning 11 and drawing four of their 19 home matches, and they beat several teams who finished higher than them in the league including Jong PSV, NEC and the promoted De Graafschap.

Schappenkoppen’s consistency at home was vital to their Play-off qualification in 2017/18, and they’ll definitely be harbouring ambitions of a similar run this time around.

City had to wait until Monday night to get their campaign underway against Jong AZ, but their new look side was soon up and running at AFAS Stadion, racing into a 0-3 lead before the half hour mark thanks to goals from new signings Niek Vossebelt, Tim Receveur and Stijn Meijer.

It was to prove unassailable in the second half, as Almere held on despite goals from Rejinders and Druijf after full-back Moustapha Seck saw red shortly after the break.

The result marked a fine start to the campaign for Almere and new boss Michele Santoni, who will have been delighted to see his side start so confidently on the road after losing 12 of their 19 away games last term.

And going into this Friday’s fixture, we consider Almere City to be narrow favourites as they seek to make it two wins from two.

They have that recent Play-off triumph over Roda JC on their dance card, and their form on home turf has been formidable over the past year or so.

So we’re backing Almere City to win with both teams to score, something which occurred in 9 of Almere’s aforementioned home victories last term.

This should be an attacking, end to end affair with plenty of goals, so we’re also going to chance a 3-2 success for the hosts in the correct score market.