FC Volendam vs Cambuur Leeuwarden Predictions

Volendam may not have expected much reward from their trip to face runaway leaders Twente last week, but the 5-0 battering they suffered in Enschede is likely to have left its mark. Hans De Koning’s side are now well and truly on the back foot in the race for the Play-offs after failing to win any of their last four, and this week they host a Cambuur side who they haven’t bested at Kras Stadion since 2010.

Volendam have now fallen to 15^th after picking up just two points from their last four league outings, and qualification for the end of season Play-offs now looks highly unlikely with just nine matches remaining.

Palingboeren are currently five points behind the top nine which is far from insurmountable, but the majority of teams in front of them are all in better form at present so it’s hard to envisage Hans De Koning’s men improving their league position significantly in the run in.

One of those teams is this Friday’s opponents Cambuur, who took another big step forward on match day 29 with a 3-1 success in Leeuwarden against 5^th placed Jong PSV.

That result backed up a fine 0-2 win against RKC in Waalwijk a fortnight ago and Rene Hake’s men are now up to 12^th and looking in good shape. With fixtures against the likes of Telstar and Jong Utrecht coming up in the next few weeks, Cambuur should be able to rack up enough points to force their way into contention.

Hake’s side are just a point adrift as they make the trip to Volendam this week, and Kras Stadion has been a happy hunting ground for the Leeuwarden outfit in recent years. They pinched a 0-1 success here last term and have not been beaten in this corresponding fixture since the 2010/11 campaign.

History could well repeat itself this Friday, and we feel that the visitors should be the bookies favourites for this clash. Cambuur are in great nick after those consecutive league wins, and they have won four of their last six matches on the road.

In contrast, Volendam will be woefully short of confidence after being torn apart by Twente and De Koning’s men have now lost three of their last six at home – albeit two of those reversals were against the leaders (1-2) and 3^rd placed Go Ahead Eagles (0-1).

All in all though, Cambuur are good value here for the three points at around the 2/1 mark, and we’re recommending a two point stake on the away side. Four of the last nine meetings have finished up with a 1-2 scoreline in their favour and that’s what we’re opting for here as it’s likely to be just the odd goal which separates these fairly closely matched teams at full time.