Roda JC vs Go Ahead Eagles Predictions

After slip-ups against Jong PSV (5-1) and Oss (0-1) on match days 15 and 16, Go Ahead Eagles got their act together on the lead up to Christmas with crucial victories over Helmond Sport (1-0), RKC (1-3) and a battling 0-0 draw at home to table toppers Den Bosch. Those results mean the Deventer outfit are just a point behind The Blue White Dragons in 2^nd as Eerste Divisie returns this weekend, but an away trip to Roda represents a difficult resumption for Eagles with the hosts seeking to secure a Play-off spot via the Period 2 table.

Go Ahead will have reflected extremely positively on the first half of the season over the festive period – the club had a woeful campaign in 2017/18 to slump to 17^th in the second tier but they’ve emerged as genuine automatic promotion contenders this term.

Boss John Stegeman has played a huge part in Eagles’ transformation, but the 42 year-old knows that his side have to step up even further over the remaining 19 matches if they are to oust current leaders Den Bosch and both Sparta Rotterdam and Twente who are just a point behind them in 3^rd and 4^th respectively.

And if there’s room for improvement for Eagles, it’s definitely on the road as they’ve suffered three defeats from their nine away outings thus far, conceding just over 1.5 goals per game on average in those matches.

So beating Roda JC at Parkstad Limburg Stadion this weekend would be a real signal of intent from the Deventer outfit on that front, and they’ll be desperate to match Den Bosch who dispatched Robert Molenaar’s men 2-0 on match day 19.

That was a first defeat in five for Roda who enjoyed successes against Telstar (3-0), Oss (0-5) and Volendam (2-1) leading up to Christmas, and those results have put the club in contention to land the Period 2 table and guaranteed a Play-off place.

A win here could be enough for them to secure top spot depending on how other results go this weekend, and that would remove a heap of pressure from Robert Molenaar’s and his side who currently sit 8^th in the standings overall and just three points clear of the teams chasing a Play-off berth.

Indeed, it’s not impossible that Roda could really kick on and latch onto the automatic promotion contenders with the security of a Play-off place in the bag, but in truth the Kerkrade outfit have been far too inconsistent this season as their six defeats thus far implies – and an instant return to Eredivisie has never really looked on the cards.

Roda can be competitive here though despite having been easily swatted aside 3-0 in October’s reverse fixture. They’ve lost just two from nine at home and those recent results will give them belief – as will the fact that Go Ahead have shown themselves to be far from infallible on the road.

So it could be a case here that neither team really gets what they’re looking for, and we anticipate the sides to cancel each other out in a 1-1 draw at Parkstad Limburg Stadion.