VVV vs Excelsior Predictions

Despite sitting in mid table a defeat for VVV this weekend could see them dragged into the ongoing relegation battle. VVV were edged out by three goals to two away at Groningen last time out, while Saturday’s guests Excelsior were beaten 2-0 at home by the league leaders PSV. Excelsior’s form has been decent over recent weeks and a victory on Saturday would take them onto level points with their hosts, but defeat could see them slip back into the bottom three.

VVV took the lead at Groningen in the twentieth minute through Post, but it proved to be a false dawn for the visitors who found themselves 2-1 down at the interval following two converted penalties from the hosts and the sending-off of VVV defender Rutten. Top scorer Mlapa brought VVV back onto level terms early in the second half, but Bel Hassani sixty-fourth minute strike won the game for Groningen. PSV picked up a run of the mill three points away at Excelsior thanks to a goal in each half from Bergwijn, and while the hosts were outplayed for the majority of the match they certainly didn’t shame themselves with their performance.

The form and performances of both teams, plus their recent head to head record, all points towards Excelsior taking something from Saturday’s game. The visitors have picked up four wins, one draw, and suffered just two defeats from their last seven encounters with VVV. The hosts head into the match having lost five of their last six matches in the Eredivisie, while Excelsior have won three and drawn one of their last six in the league. Both teams have scored in three of VVV’s and three of Excelsior’s last six matches, so with that in mind we are expecting both teams to get on the scoreboard this weekend. All of the above suggests a double chance bet on the visitors would be well worth placing as despite sitting below their guests in the Eredivisie, Excelsior are the form favourites and have a good recent record against their hosts.

Mlapa poses the biggest threat to the opposition’s goal and leads the way for VVV with ten goals in the Eredivisie this season, while Messaoud top scores for Excelsior with seven goals to his name. We’re confident that Excelsior will take something from the match, most likely a draw, and have backed the visitors with a double chance bet. The form of the visitors and their recent history against VVV have lead us to this prediction, but we are going for a final score of 1-1 as we’re not totally convinced that Excelsior will do enough to win the game.