Cambuur Leeuwarden vs De Graafschap Predictions

Cambuur sneaked past Almere City 4-3 on aggregate to reach the 2^nd Round stage, and the Leeuwarden outfit are now potentially just four games away from returning to Eredivisie after a three year absence. Next up for Rene Hake’s side are De Graafschap who finished second bottom this term, and all the pressure is seemingly on the visitors going into this Sunday’s tie as they look to defend their position in the top flight.

After a strong start to the season, Cambuur’s campaign has been fairly inconsistent overall however they did just enough in the final weeks to secure their place in the Play-Offs.

As expected, their 1^st Round tie with Almere City was an extremely close affair however Rene Hake’s charges performed really well in midweek to land a 1-2 victory at Yanmar Stadion and a 4-3 success on aggregate.

Cambuur could just be peaking at the right time and they certainly won’t be fazed when they turn out against Eredivisie opposition this weekend. They’re now unbeaten in seven games and have won four of their last six at Cambuurstadion – a venue where De Graafschap have experienced little joy in the past.

Indeed, the visitors have won just one of their last ten trips to Leeuwarden, and this will be a nervy and tense affair for Henk De Jong’s men who have looked woefully out of their depth in the top flight this term.

A run of six defeats from their last eight matches saw De Graafschap end the season second from bottom, and they head into Sunday’s clash having lost their last four outings on the road.

De Jong’s side have been atrocious defensively with 75 goals leaked in their 34 league fixtures, and they have shipped ten in their last two following 6-1 and 1-4 hammerings against Vitesse and Ajax respectively.

And whilst Cambuur represent a general drop in the quality of opposition for De Graafschap, the hosts have bagged 12 goals in their last four home games and will be brimming with confidence after gradually moving through the gears in recent weeks.

In contrast, morale in the visitors’ camp should be near rock bottom after a long and arduous campaign which has seen them lose 21 of their 34 matches, so we expect them to be vulnerable in this 1^st Leg contest.

The bookies can barely split the pair for Sunday’s action but we think Cambuur deserve the vote at around 13/8 and we’re predicting a fairly straightforward 3-1 triumph for Rene Hake’s side.