FC Dordrecht vs Maastricht Predictions

Dordrecht pulled off by far their most impressive result of the campaign last week as they stunned champions elect Twente 0-1 at De Grolsch Veste, and Claudio Braga’s charges should be brimming with confidence as they prepare to take on MVV at Riwal Hoogwerkers Stadion this Friday. The visitors are in terrible shape after failing to win any of their last seven Eerste Divisie games, but a victory here could put them back into contention for a much coveted Play-off place.

Leaders Twente were pretty woeful by their standards in Enschede last week, but Dordrecht have to be commended for hanging tough and seeing things out at De Grolsch Veste after Daniel Breedijk scored what turned out to be the winner just before the half time interval.

A thrilling 3-4 success at Volendam on April 1 showed that Dordrecht were feeling no ill effects from their 8-1 hammering at FC Eindhoven in late March, but few would have expected Braga’s side to turn over the likely champions who had won 14 of their previous 16 matches.

The result epitomised the crazy nature of the Dutch second tier, within which teams seem to go from one extreme to the other in terms of form.

That can certainly be said of MVV, who are now without a win in seven following last week’s 1-1 draw at home to FC Eindhoven after previously racking up a sequence of five straight victories in January and early February.

The Maastricht outfit looked like certain Play-off candidates a few weeks ago, but they are now lying 13^th and playing catch-up with just five games of the regular season remaining.

Ron Elsen’s men are far from out of things though; they head to Dordrecht this Friday just three points behind 9^th placed Oss and have a fairly manageable run in with fixtures against Jong AZ, Jong Ajax, Volendam and Cambuur to come.

MVV will need to win here however to start bridging the gap and they will be encouraged by the fact that they have beaten their opponents in the last five meetings between the pair including a 2-1 triumph at De Geusselt earlier this term.

It’s difficult to support a team that are in the midst of a lengthy winless run, but MVV’s recent efforts on the road can probably be excused. They have picked up just one point from their last three away fixtures which was a fair 2-2 draw at Roda JC, but their pair of 2-0 defeats came against 2^nd placed Sparta Rotterdam and 3^rd placed Go Ahead Eagles.

Overall, MVV have been solid on their travels this season with seven wins and five draws gained from 16 outings, and it’s easy to envisage Elsen’s side being bang up for this one against a Dordrecht side who have won just one of their last seven at Riwal Hoogwerkers Stadion.

They will welcome a drop in the level of opposition and the head to head between the teams definitely swings this clash in their direction. Dordrecht’s efforts in Enschede last week can’t be underestimated, but we’re backing an MVV success here at a shade under 2/1 alongside a 1-2 correct score in favour of the visitors.