Feyenoord
- Feyenoord Rotterdam, second in the Eredivisie with 36 points from 18 games, are the runaway favourites ahead of Sunday’s Rotterdam derby with Sparta, who sit 8th with 26 points and remain in the hunt for a European spot.
- Feyenoord have won six, drawn one and lost two of their nine Eredivisie home games, scoring 2.44 goals per game on average while conceding 1.33.
Sparta
- Sparta have won four of their last five matches and are on a three-game winning streak, but have won none of their last two away games to Feyenoord.
- Sparta boss Maurice Steijn is more pragmatic in his approach and has his men working their socks off in a compact 4-3-3 system that looks to absorb pressure and hit on the counter, particularly wide.
- Sparta have won four of their last five games and are on a three-game winning streak, but Steijn’s system has clearly worked much better in the last few weeks, as they have shut up shop and become much more clinical.
Head-to-Head
Feyenoord have won two and drawn one of the last three meetings with Sparta, including a 4-0 triumph away in the Eredivisie four months ago.
Key Players
- In terms of personnel, Van Persie has the tools to get the win here and has been switching between a 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 system to suit his players and the game in hand.
- He relies on Ayase Ueda to provide the killer touch, and the Japanese international is the Eredivisie’s top scorer with 17 goals in 18 games.
- Shunsuke Mito has hit a rich vein of form for the visitors, scoring three of their last nine goals, while Tobias Lauritsen is a handful for defenders with nine in 18 Eredivisie appearances.
- He is a threat in the air and a physical presence that the Lions’ back four will have to keep under control.
Betting Insights
- And while the odds reflect Feyenoord’s superiority in all departments, they are not as short as they could be.
- The visitors are 7.7 to win the game and the draw is 4.85, which is far too high for a side that has won four of their last five and are on a three-game streak.
- An end-to-end match looks likely, so we are taking Over 2.5 goals, priced at 1.45, because of the way these teams play and their recent goal averages.
Prediction
Feyenoord should win, but it may be closer than the odds suggest because Sparta are in such a good place right now.
