Sparta Rotterdam vs FC Den Bosch Predictions

Sparta Rotterdam are strong favourites with the bookies to land a fourth Eerste Divisie win on the bounce when they host Den Bosch at Het Kasteel this weekend.

Hen Fraser’s team have responded well to a narrow 2-1 opening day defeat at FC Twente, stringing together three consecutive wins against Volendam (2-0 at home), the then unbeaten Waalwijk (1-0 away), and bottom of the table Eindhoven (another 2-0 at home).

New signing Mohamed Rayhi bagged his first goal for the club since joining from NEC Nijmegen over that run and De Kasteelheren, who were relegated from the Dutch top tier at the end of last season, look well up for the chase for the top spot – Sparta are just three points shy of Go Ahead Eagles going into match five.

Rotterdam might have a tougher than expected challenge ahead of their clash with Den Bosch though.

Sparta might be unbeaten in a few matches against the visitors, winning three and drawing two of the last five between them, but Wil Boessen’s side have won each of their last three away outings in the Eerste Divisie, including against current league leaders Go Ahead Eagles at the end of last season. More importantly perhaps is that Den Bosch have also lost just one of their league outings so far (W2 D1 L1)

So what can we look for betting-wise here? Well, though the Dutch Eerste Divisie is well known for it’s high scoring matches, this pairing could deliver some value in the under 3.5 goals market.

Den Bosch might be in reasonable form, but Rotterdam have the joint best defense in the Eerste Divisie, heading into this off the back of three consecutive clean sheets going into this – Sparta have conceded just two goals total this season. An away trip  means they’ll be fighting against the home advantage too.

However, Rotterdam themselves aren’t as offensively sharp as some of the top teams in this division, having scored just six goals, which puts them in the bottom 50% in terms of goals scored overall. Den Bosch’s defense, meanwhile, has conceded just five goals, putting them in the top 50%.

Sparta have hardly been prolific but their strike force of Lars Veldwijk and Halil Dervisoglu should have the upper hand at Het Kasteel this week. Confidence is bound to be high following three back-to-back wins and the momentum with which they head into this should be enough to see them come out ahead after 90 minutes against a weaker Den Bosch side. Our prediction: 2-0 Sparta Rotterdam.