AZ Reserves vs Helmond Sport Predictions

Jong AZ and Helmond Sport square off at AFAS Stadion on match day eight in vital need of points after poor starts to the campaign. The hosts are currently 15^th with just five points on the board from seven outings, with the visitors a point worse off in 18^th. Who can get their season going this Friday to move away from the bottom of Eerste Divisie?

This fixture hardly jumps off the page on match day eight, but we could be set for quite an entertaining encounter, with both sides having been involved in high scoring matches lately.

Jong AZ’s last three games have seen 13 goals hit the net, whilst 14 goals have been netted in Helmond Sport’s last three outings.

It’s been quite a mixed bag for Jong recently – they notched their first win of the season on match day five with a thrilling 3-2 success at home to current leaders Go Ahead Eagles, but they’ve failed to really build on that over the past fortnight with a 2-2 draw away to RKC and a 3-1 defeat to Den Bosch on match day seven.

In form striker Ferdy Druijf scored once again in the latter, and whilst his strike proved no more than a consolation for Martin Haar’s men in s-Hertogenbosch, it did move Druijf clear at the top of the Eerste Divisie scoring charts.

Druijf will be a dangerous weapon here for Jong against a Sport side that’s conceded 12 goals in their last four matches in all competitions. Rob Alflen’s side drew 2-2 at home to Volendam last week, which steadied the ship slightly after league defeats to NEC (2-3) and Jong Ajax (2-0), and a 0-5 drubbing against Fortuna Sittard in the KNVB Beker.

Sport are now without a win in 15 games and have failed to win any of their last eight on the road. Such a barren spell makes them significant underdogs here, despite the fact they completed a comfortable league double over Jong AZ last term, winning 3-0 at home and 1-3 in this corresponding fixture.

Although Jong naturally make more appeal here for the three points, we don’t feel they’re good value at odds-on and Sport have to end their miserable run at some point in this unpredictable league.

So following the recent goal stats makes sense, and we’re backing over 3.5 in this one. Along with the recent high scoring matches that both teams have been involved in, over 3.5 has been a feature of 50% league games involving these sides so far this term.

Ferdy Druijf could just give Jong AZ the potency needed to secure their second league win of the campaign in Alkmaar, so alongside our over 3.5 wager we’re also backing a 3-1 home victory in the correct score market.