De Graafschap
- Marinus Dijkhuizen has led De Graafschap since January 2025 and has overseen a solid top-half performance in the Eerste Divisie, with a focus on a disciplined, senior player-led side that excels at wing play, crossing quickly and getting the ball to the strikers.
- The hosts come into this game winless in their last 5 with 3 ties and 2 defeats, but their home form is slightly better with 5 wins, 3 ties and 4 losses from 12 games so far.
Jong Ajax
- Jong Ajax have had a slight resurgence recently, winning 1, drawing 3 and losing 1 of their last 5 games, but still sit bottom of the table on 16 points.
- Jong Ajax’s style of play is a little more typical of a development squad, focussed on possession, patience and the development of young talent over winning games.
- Jong Ajax have won just 1 of their 11 away games in the Eerste Divisie (2 draws and 8 losses) and have conceded an average of 2.27 goals per game on their travels.
Head-to-Head
The sides have both won 2 and tied 1 of their 5 prior Eerste Divisie meetings, with the most recent matchup ending 2-2 at Jong Ajax's ground four months ago.
Key Players
- De Graafschap’s attacking play is spearheaded by prolific striker Bouke Boersma, who has scored 12 times in 22 league games.
- Behind him, creative midfielder Niemeijer is a key part of the hosts’ play, regularly making runs to unlock defenses and providing vision and accurate passing to unlock the Jong Ajax defence.
- Winger Noah Gesser will look to beat his man and provide pace on the wing for Jong Ajax.
- Jong Ajax’s top scorer Don O’Niel has scored 5 in 23 Eerste Divisie appearances, giving the young side a cutting edge and finishing ability that they have lacked at times this season.
Betting Insights
- Given De Graafschap’s superior record in the Eerste Divisie, home advantage and odds of 1.35, they are the obvious choice to win Friday’s game, while Jong Ajax are outsiders at 6.8.
- The Both Teams To Score market is heavily favored at 1.5 in this fixture.
Prediction
- De Graafschap are in desperate need of a win to keep their promotion push on track and we expect the match to be relatively open, with the odds heavily favoring both sides to score.
- De Graafschap’s pragmatic, chance-heavy attack should find plenty of joy against the patient Jong Ajax, but with no wins in their last 5, the visitors could nick a point on Friday.
