Against All Odds: Eagles to be grounded in Holland

8Feb 2013

Betfair

The Go Ahead Eagles are odds-on for their home clash with Fortuna Sittard in the Dutch Jupiler League this evening but with no wins in four, Paul Robinson thinks they have to be opposed.

Go Ahead Eagles are currently ninth in the second tier of Dutch football and after a bright start to their campaign that saw them lose just three of their first 14 fixtures, things have tailed off recently. Defeats at Volendam and Den Bosch combined with the failure to beat Almere City and Veendam at home have seen them slide down the table.

Erik ten Hag's side have won just one of their last four in front of their own fans and that came against Emmen who are down in 15th place. They haven't kept a clean sheet at De Adelaarshorst since September and of the eight league games they've played there this term, they've won just three, giving them a strike rate of less than 40%.

Fortuna Sittard are one place and one point ahead of their opponents and they also have a game in hand. Like the Eagles though, they're form has taken a turn for the worse lately and after going undefeated for six matches, which included five victories, they've picked up just nine points from a possible 24.

Their recent struggles have come at home though and on the road Willy Boessen's men have lost only one of their last seven and are undefeated in three. Since that single loss to Den Bosch, Fortuna have played a trio of teams in the top half of the table, beating both Dordrecht and Veendam and holding De Graafschap.

The Go Ahead Eagles seem far too short to me at around the 1.89 mark and that's why I have to make them my lay of the day.