FC Den Bosch vs Roda JC Predictions

The highlight of match day 19 undoubtedly takes places in s-Hertogenbosch on Saturday evening, as 2^nd placed Den Bosch put their 12 match unbeaten streak on the line against 5^th placed Roda JC. The hosts could be gunning to end the year on top of the league depending on how other results go on Friday night, but they’ll have to do much better against the Kerkrade outfit than in past meetings between the pair.

Indeed, The Blue White Dragons have only beaten Roda JC once in eight previous encounters, losing six, but this will be the first game between the sides since the 2014/15 campaign.

And there is certainly a lot more steel about this Den Bosch team than previous incarnations as their 12 match unbeaten streak confirms.

It’s a run which has put Wil Boessen’s men bang in the thick of the automatic promotion race, and they sit 2^nd and just one point behind leaders Sparta Rotterdam heading into this weekend after playing out a highly satisfactory 0-0 draw away to 3^rd placed Go Ahead Eagles on match day 18.

With Sparta facing a difficult trip to Amsterdam on Friday to take on in form Jong Ajax, the door could conceivably be open for Den Bosch to round off 2018 by claiming top spot on Saturday night – a status which Boessen’s side arguably deserve based on their sheer consistency over the last three months.

The visit of Roda to Stadion De Vliert presents Den Bosch with a real test though, and the hosts will have to be somewhere near their best to land the spoils.

Roda suffered KNVB disappointment in midweek with a penalty shoot-out loss to Ajax, but their league form has been strong of late with three wins and a draw gained from their last four outings.

Robert Molenaar’s charges battled past Volendam 2-1 at Parkstad Limburg Stadion last week thanks to goals from Mart Remans and Gyliano van Velzen, and the Kerkrade outfit are now 5^th and just seven points behind Sparta following an indifferent start to the season.

Roda realistically need to avoid defeat here to ensure they stay latched onto the leaders going into 2019, and that probably puts them under more pressure than Den Bosch to get a result – despite the fact the hosts will be desperate to keep their unbeaten sequence in-tact.

And it’s the above which makes it hard to oppose Den Bosch here, as well as the fact they’ve won five and drawn one of their last six matches in s-Hertogenbosch.

Roda JC are obviously on the up but they’ve been beaten fairly comprehensively against other top four teams on the road this season (3-0 vs Go Ahead, 3-1 vs Twente) and this Den Bosch team are probably the best they’ve taken on yet.

So we’re backing the hosts to grab a crucial win at a shade of odds-on, with a 3-1 score line likely to offer you a good run for your money in the correct score market.