RKC vs Telstar Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

The 2017/18 Eerste Divisie campaign can undoubtedly be classed a success for SC Telstar. They weren’t amongst the fancied teams to mount a promotion push yet finished an excellent 6th in the regular season, before being ousted narrowly by De Graafschap in the Play-offs.

They demonstrated great consistency last term, losing just nine of their 38 league fixtures, and made their Rabobank Stadion something of a fortress, with 10 wins and six draws from 19 starts.

Boss Mike Snoei remains in the hotseat for the new season, but Witte Leeuwen will have to get by without striker Andrij Novakovich after his end of loan return to English Championship side Reading.

The Serbian was a prolific force in front of goal in 2017/18 and responsible for 19 of Telstar’s 66 league goals. Young Argentine Facundo Lescano has been signed from Parma as his replacement, but it remains to be seen whether he can step up to the plate in quite the same way that Novakovich did.

This will actually be Telstar’s 41st consecutive campaign in Eerste Divisie, making them the second longest residents of the Dutch second tier behind FC Eindhoven.  They begin the new season on the road with a tricky clash against a Waalwijk side who beat them 4-1 at Mandemakers Stadion in November.

Despite the fact that Telstar finished 12 places above their forthcoming opponents and 24 points to the good last season, Waalwijk have dominated them in recent times with four wins and a draw in their last five meetings.

That will boost the hosts going into Friday’s encounter, as their 2017/18 campaign overall is clearly best forgotten.

Waalwijk amassed just 37 points from 38 fixtures and were one of four teams detached at the foot of the table.

The club acted over the summer by sacking manager Hans de Koning and luring a high profile replacement in the shape of former Netherlands U21 coach Fred Grim.

Grim has several new attacking players at his disposal such as Mario Bilate and Kevin Vermeulen who’ve joined on free transfers from Emmen and Excelsior – and they can add some quality and guile to a forward line that mustered just 37 goals last term, the worst tally by far in Eerste Divisie.

Grim will need some time to turn his new club around, but while it’s unlikely that RKC will end their five year stay in Eerste Divisie this term, better can probably be expected of the former twice league champions, who can rebuild safe in the knowledge that relegation to Tweede Divisie is frozen again this year. A mid-table finish would definitely represent major progress for them.

Going into match day one, we fancy the hosts to again have the edge over SC Telstar. It may be quite a cagey affair, particularly as the visitors will be keen to avoid the kind of result inflicted upon them last season, whilst Waalwijk’s new attack finds its feet, but we’re backing the home side to pinch it, with 1-0 looking the most likely scoreline.