FC Volendam

vs

Sparta Rotterdam

Preview

FC Volendam (home)

• FC Volendam are 15th on 14 points.
• FC Volendam have won three of their eight Eredivisie home games this season, drawing three and losing two.
• FC Volendam have lost three in a row.
• FC Volendam have made a good impression under coach Rick Kruys, who took over in July 2024.
• Kruys has instilled a pragmatic, direct approach that focuses on verticality, transitions and set-pieces, rather than possession and penetration.

Sparta Rotterdam (away)

• Sparta Rotterdam sit 10th in the Eredivisie standings after 16 games with 20 points.
• Sparta Rotterdam have lost their last two away matches in the Eredivisie.
• Sparta Rotterdam have won three and lost four of their seven away Eredivisie matches this season, scoring 1.14 goals and conceding 1.86 per away game.
• Sparta Rotterdam have looked a completely different proposition since coach Maurice Steijn took over in November 2024.
• He has compressed them into a solid, compact 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 with a very clear priority on defensive solidity and counter-attacking.

Head-to-Head

• Sparta Rotterdam have won two of the last three Eredivisie meetings with FC Volendam.
• Sparta Rotterdam have won this fixture 1-0 at home in Eredivisie 2023/2024, giving them a psychological edge.

Key Players

• Brandley Kuwas is a talented, tricky, attacking midfielder for FCV and has two goals in the last five for Volendam.
• Henk Veerman is a solid presence up top for FCV, heading their line with four Eredivisie goals in 16 appearances this term.
• Tobias Lauritsen has been Sparta’s danger man with seven Eredivisie goals in 16 games this campaign.

Betting Insights

• With Sparta Rotterdam 2.42 favourites, FCV 2.68 and the draw 3.5, the odds slightly favour the visitors.
• Over 2.5 goals at 1.57 looks short, but both sides have been brittle defensively.
• These two have averaged 4.0 goals per fixture when FCV have been the hosts, pointing to a potential high-scoring encounter.

Prediction

• Both sides lack confidence and are in poor form and, with neither team good enough to walk a game like this, we’ll take the draw.
• A high-scoring game could also result from this tactical mismatch.