FC Oss vs FC Utrecht Reserves Predictions

After failing to score in their last three Eerste Divisie fixtures and picking up just two points from a possible nine, FC Oss’ strong early season form appears to be petering out. Klaas Wels’ charges upset promotion favourites Twente 1-2 away from home on match day four, but they’ve fallen well below that standard in recent weeks. Will the visit of 16^th placed Jong Utrecht to Frans Heesen Stadion this Friday give Oss the chance to regain the winning thread?

FC Oss started like a train in the early part of last season before eventually fading to finish 15^th and it seems as though a repeat may be on the cards this time around.

Victories over MVV (0-2), Jong PSV (4-1) and FC Twente (1-2) in the first four weeks of the campaign put Oss in amongst the early pace setters however they’ve now fallen to 8^th after a 1-0 defeat at Telstar last week, which came on the back of goalless draws against Sparta Rotterdam and Volendam.

If history does repeat itself, we can expect to see Oss gradually slip down the standings over the next few weeks, however confidence will be restored at the club should they manage to see off Jong Utrecht at Frans Heesen Stadion this Friday.

They did just that in 2017/18, running out comfortable 2-0 winners, and they’re lengthy odds-on favourites to repeat the trick on match day eight.

There’s enough to suggest that Oss are too short in the betting for this one though, as there have been green shoots of improvement from Jong Utrecht in recent outings.

Robin Pronk’s men have lost just one of their last four league fixtures, and they appear to have addressed the defensive fragilities that led to them finishing bottom of the table last season.

Jong have recorded back to back goalless draws, including a stalemate against promotion candidates Cambuur on match day six, and have looked a much sterner outfit since banking their first win of the season against Jong PSV (3-2) on match day four.

Whilst Jong are unlikely to trouble the top half this term, they can harbour realistic ambitions of a lower mid table finish based on their performances of late and they head to Frans Heesen Stadion with a realistic shot of gaining a positive result.

Enthusiasm for backing a shock Jong victory here is tempered by the fact they’ve lost all three of their away assignments in 2018/19, though they shouldn’t be judged too harshly considering two of those defeats were to Go Ahead Eagles and Almere City who are currently 1^st and 2^nd in the table.

But we’re going to swerve the match betting here, and we think under 2.5 goals  strongly appeals at odds-against, based on Jong’s recent defensive displays and Oss’ mini goal drought. 0-0 is a big price in the correct score market but could easily land looking at the teams’ results of late and a draw definitely seems to be the most feasible outcome.