On Thursday night, Utrecht and Sparta Rotterdam go head-to-head at the Stadion Galgenwaard in the Eredivisie Conference League play-offs semi-finals.
Utrecht looking to turn around inconsistent formThe home team finished the Eredivisie campaign in inconsistent form, although they finished seventh place in the table.
Ron Jans’ team heads into this game on the back of just one win in their last four games in the Eredivisie. However, on the flip side, they have lost just one of their previous seven league games.
The home team’s recent league games have been high-scoring, with over 2.5 goals scored in six of their previous eight matches.
Utrecht have a strong recent home record in the Eredivisie, winning seven of the previous eight home games in the Dutch top-flight. However, their last home game was a 1-0 defeat against Thursday night’s opponents, which ended a seven-game winning streak on home soil.
Their recent home games in the league have been low-scoring, with under 2.5 goals scored in four of their last six home matches.
A strong late run got Sparta into the play-offsSparta finished eighth place in the Eredivisie table after an excellent finish to their Eredivisie campaign. In fact, the visitors won four of their last five games in the Dutch top flight. Their only blip in the run was a 4-2 defeat at eventual champions PSV Eindhoven.
Their recent Eredivisie games have been relatively high-scoring, with over 2.5 goals scored in eight of their last ten league games.
Sparta have a decent recent away record in the Dutch top-flight, winning three of their last four league games on their travels.
The key to their recent stellar excellent away record in the Eredivisie has been their attacking prowess, as they have scored at least two goals in three of their last four away matches.
What am I backing?There was very little between the two teams in the regular season. I believe this will be a close but entertaining encounter, so the bet I am backing is over 2.5 goals scored.
