FC Dordrecht vs Cambuur Leeuwarden Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Cambuur come into this match having flown up the table towards the end of the regular season. In truth, had they got their skates on a bit earlier, Marinus Dijkhuizen’s men would’ve easily finished high enough to bypass the first stage of these play-offs, though they ultimately paid the price for a poor period between February and late March.

Unlike the visitors, Dordrecht have stumbled their way into the play-offs. The hosts looked certain to finish higher up the table back in February, though a dramatic dip in form saw them plummet to 13^th place finish. Luckily for them, mainly because both Jong PSV and Jong Ajax cannot be promoted, such a modest position was enough.

Dordrecht will undoubtedly be pleased that this first-leg comes on their own patch. In front of a home crowd, Jan Everse’s men have often got involved offensively – the hosts come into this match having scored in seven of their eight matches against teams who finished in the top eight – but their defensive efforts have been anything but encouraging this season. To be quite honest, conceding 81 goals in a 38-game season, which is an average of 2.1 per game, is nothing short of abysmal. Somewhat astonishingly, Dordrecht didn’t finish the regular campaign with the worst defensive record, though only one team conceded more goals.

It is Dordrecht’s inability to keep teams out, even on their own patch, that makes them tough to fancy ahead of this clash. The hosts kept just three clean sheets at home during the regular season, while they have a shocking defensive record against teams who finished in top eight, conceding in all but one of eight games at home against the top teams. What’s more, Everse’s side shipped at least two goals in six of their eight home matches against the top eight, including conceding three against Cambuur.

Given the clear defensive frailties of the hosts, the visitors will know that this is a big opportunity. Having finished the season with six wins on the spin, they’re in excellent shape and will surely be looking to get at the floundering home side right from the word go.

Not only have Dordrecht struggled massively to keep teams out, but the visitors have thrived offensively in recent weeks. Dijkhuizen’s side notched three goals when they visited Riwal Hoogwerkers Stadion just over two weeks ago, while they’ve scored at least twice in seven of their last eight. Such scoring form bodes well ahead of a match against a defensively inept side.

All things considered, the hosts, for all they can sometimes hurt teams with the ball, aren’t expected to have the required defensive quality to keep out a visiting team who’ve been thriving in recent weeks. Having picked the ball out of his net at least twice in seven of his last ten, Dordrecht keeper Bryan Janssen looks set for another disappointing evening.