FC Den Bosch vs Ajax Reserves Predictions

Den Bosch and Jong Ajax are two of six teams sitting on three points after their opening two Eerste Divisie fixtures, and both sides will be hoping to double that tally when they square off at Stadion De Vliert this Friday.

Defending champions Jong Ajax responded brilliantly to their 2-1 opening day defeat at Roda JC by hammering Dordrecht 5-2 at home on match day two, as young forwards Kaj Sierhuis and Danilo both bagged twice to seal a convincing win – the latter after coming on as a substitute.

With the senior Ajax squad currently relying on veteran Klaas Jan Huntelaar up front after an injury to Kasper Dolberg, Erik ten Hag drafted in Sierhuis for Sunday’s 5-0 success over Emmen, and he made an appearance from the bench to reward his fine early season form.

Jong boss Michael Reiziger could well be without one of his key assets then for Friday’s trip to s-Hertogenbosch if ten Hag wishes to retain Sierhuis in the senior squad, so Brazilian Danilo is likely to start up front.

Reiziger’s side have won their last five meetings against Den Bosch, including a thrilling 2-5 victory over The Blue White Dragons at Stadion De Vliert last term.

Anything less than a win on Friday will be marked as a failure for Jong, who know that they’ll be expected to match RKC Waalwijk’s triumph in s-Hertogenbosch on match day two.

Den Bosch’s 2-3 defeat to RKC last week quickly dampened spirits after a fine 1-2 success away to Volendam on the opening night, and the result will have hurt Wil Boessen’s charges after they twice lost the lead following goals from Stefano Beltrame and Rauno Sappinen.

A second half double salvo from Mauro Bilate ensured that all three points went back to Waalwijk, leaving Den Bosch shell shocked and wondering what might have been.

The reversal was a reminder of Den Bosch’s inconsistencies and failure to hold onto results, a catalyst as to why they’ve not managed to finish higher than 11^th in the past four seasons.

Boss Boessen couldn’t have asked for a much tougher test on match day three as his side looks to bounce back, and that aforementioned 2-5 loss at home to Jong towards the end of last season will still be fresh in the memory.

Den Bosch have conceded 16 goals to Jong in losing the last five meetings between the pair, and considering that RKC managed to put three past them last week, we fancy Reiziger’s charges to cause more damage on match day three, even if they have to make do without Kaj Sierhuis as we expect.

The recent head to head between the teams is extremely difficult to ignore, and aside from that, Jong simply appear to have far more quality than Den Bosch in their ranks.

So we’re backing Jong to win this Friday, but we’re incorporating both teams to score into our wager. That was the case in all six of Den Bosch’s home defeats in 2017/18, and in nine of Jong’s 12 victories on the road.

And in the correct score market, we think 1-3 to the visitors is highly possible at decent odds.