Roda JC vs Almere City FC Predictions

If one club is going to come from well off the pace to mount a challenge for automatic promotion this term, it’s likely to be Robert Molenaar’s Roda JC. The Kerkrade outfit have been in excellent form of late, and they solidified 5^th place in the table with a crushing 6-2 success against Jong AZ at Parkstad Limburg Stadion last week. Molenaar’s men are at home again this Friday, and they’ll be eyeing up another comfortable victory against an Almere City side who have lost six league games on the bounce.

It’s been a good couple of months for Roda aside from a 2-0 defeat at Den Bosch in the final round of fixtures before the Christmas break, and they kept their momentum going with a resounding win over Jong AZ on match day 22.

Eerste Divisie top scorer Mario Engels is usually the star of the show for the Kerkrade side, and although the German got on the scoresheet last weekend, it was Mart Remans and Livio Milts who really came to the fore with a double salvo apiece to spearhead a 6-2 drubbing of the Alkmaar reserves.

With the lead at the summit of the second tier changing hands in favour of Twente after Den Bosch’s 2-0 loss at FC Eindhoven, Roda inched themselves a little bit closer to the pace with their fifth win in eight, and they now sit just nine points off the top going into round 23.

Ailing Almere City are the visitors to Parkstad Limburg Stadion this Friday, and Roda will be seeking to complete a league double over their opponents following a 1-2 triumph at Yanmar Stadion back in August.

City no doubt remain a sore point for Roda considering it was Schappenkoppen who knocked them out of last season’s Play-offs to seal their relegation fate, but securing another victory and a vital three points against them here will give Molenaar’s men plenty of satisfaction as they look to strengthen their promotion bid.

And they can also inflict further damage on Almere who have been in freefall over the past few weeks.

Michele Santoni’s side have now lost their last six Eerste Divisie matches and are without a win in ten following a 1-3 home defeat to Twente last weekend, leaving them five points behind the Play-off places in 14^th.

It remains to be seen how long Santoni will remain in the hot seat, but the likelihood is that there will be a change at the helm if City can’t find a way past Jong AZ in their fixture next week.

That’s a realistic opportunity for Almere to break their miserable sequence of results, which we can only see continuing in Kerkrade this Friday against a Roda side that’s getter stronger by the game and who are unbeaten in their last seven at home, winning five.

The form of the hosts alone is more than enough to justify their status as favourites for this clash at a shade of odds-on, but there’s lots more to factor in which leads us to recommend Roda as a cracking bet for this Friday – namely the points differential between the teams, Roda’s victory in the reverse fixture and City’s overall demise since November.

City put up a spirited display when falling short against Twente last week and we anticipate Santoni’s strugglers to come out fighting again in Kerkrade, but Roda have the quality and momentum that matters and we’re going for a 3-1 success in their favour.