Sparta Rotterdam vs Almere City FC Predictions

Sparta Rotterdam were beaten for the first time since the opening night of the season on match day 16, and Henk Fraser’s side have a major point to prove this Friday after going down 3-0 to bottom club Helmond Sport. Sparta are odds-on to hit back against Almere City at Het Kasteel where they’ve won seven of their eight league matches so far this term, but will they be feeling the effects of that embarrassing defeat?

Sparta have to be commended for their 14 game unbeaten run which ultimately secured them a guaranteed Play-off place via the Period 1 table, but Henk Fraser’s side now have serious questions to answer in terms of their automatic promotion credentials after a woeful showing at Helmond Sport on match day 16.

Rotterdam dominated possession at Lavans Stadion but couldn’t find a way past the second tier stragglers, who took the lead mid-way through the first half from the penalty spot and then picked Sparta off with two late goals to seal a remarkable 3-0 victory – their first success in 24 competitive matches.

Following draws against Jong PSV (0-0) and NEC (1-1) on match days 14 and 15, Sparta have now slipped off the top of the table and sit 3^rd in the standings heading into this Friday’s contest, but they are only a point behind new outright leaders Den Bosch.

With Den Bosch and 2^nd placed Go Ahead squaring off next week, Sparta know that three wins from three on the run up to Christmas should be good enough to put them back in pole position going into 2019, and that’s definitely feasible with games against Jong AZ and Jong Ajax to follow in the coming weeks.

Sparta first have to get past Almere City though in one of the standout fixtures on match day 17, and they’ll be hoping to continue their excellent record at Het Kasteel this season after seven wins and one draw from their eight outings in Rotterdam.

Visitors City have been stuttering of late with just two points picked up from their last three league matches, and Michele Santoni’s side now sit 6^th in the table after a 2-0 defeat at Oss on match day 14 and consecutive 1-1 draws against Dordrecht and Telstar in the last fortnight.

City undoubtedly need to up their game here if they’re to obtain a positive result, as despite a decent points tally of 14 from eight outings on the road this season, three of the four teams they’ve beaten are positioned in the bottom five.

Moreover, Almere’s form on their travels has tailed off recently with just five points collected from their last five away assignments, so there’s little to suggest that they can land the spoils here at a venue where they’ve been beaten five times in six previous visits.

So we have to fancy Sparta to come out best in this one, but with the match betting odds making little appeal, we’re going for Draw/Sparta in the HT/FT market. The hosts have been all square at the break in three of their eight home matches this term whilst Almere have been drawing at half time in six of their eight away fixtures.

With that in mind, the odds on offer for this wager look very reasonable as we expect a cagey opening period. It shouldn’t open up too much in the second half, but we’re also backing Sparta to breakthrough and claim the points via a 1-0 score line.