Home and Away: Veendam to heap more misery on lowly Eindhoven
Jonno Turner looks to action in France and the Netherlands as he looks to kick start the week in style in his Home and Away column.
We're off to France for our first pick of the day, as Caen host Istres at the Stade Michel d'Ornano - looking to pile the pressure on the top two in Ligue 2.
Patrice Garande's side sit third in the table, and a game in hand on Nantes in second, who sit six points ahead of today's hosts - so it is vitally important that they take maximum points in this clash, especially with Guingamp on level points in fourth.
Three wins on the bounce at home will have the Normandy side full of confidence ahead of this clash, and two clean sheets in that time underlines just how comfortable Garande's side have looked of late.
That makes six unbeaten home and away, and the hosts will be desperate to maintain the momentum as they reach the last leg of the season.
Visitors Istres go into this clash on the back of a 1-0 defeat of Sedan - their first win in 2013, and their first goal in six outings.
And seven losses from their last eight on the road indicates that the away side are highly susceptible to travel sickness.
That miserable form has left the away side languishing in 12th place in the table, just four points ahead of the relegation places, and boss Jose Pasqualetti will be keen for his charges secure a second consecutive win here.
But the last time the Fos-sur-Mer side did that was all the way back in September, and that suggests a level of inconsistency which threatens to seriously derail their season.
And Pasqualetti has added headaches with the news that forward Nassim Akrour will miss this game through injury, and influential midfielder Ibrahima Ba is also doubtful.
Caen have lost just one of their last seven against Istres, and I think they will make their home advantage pay here.
Bet 1: Caen (HOME) @ 1.65
Switching our attentions to the Netherlands now - and the Eerste Divisie - as struggling FC Eindhoven welcome Veendam to the Jan Louwers Stadion.
The home side are in the midst of a miserable run, and go into this clash without a win since October - a shocking run which consists 15 outings.
And five defeats on the bounce shows just how out of sorts Pascal Maas' side have been of late, scoring just one goal in their most recent seven and a half hours of football.
That leaves the Blauw-Witten sitting bottom of the table, and four losses from their last five on their own patch suggests will have knocked confidence in the home camp.
Veendam travel to Eindhoven in mixed form - a 4-1 loss last time out at Den Bosch probably the low point of their recent results, but Gert Heerkes' side have shown their quality in flashes, and that will give them much confidence ahead of this one.
The visitors have not lost back to back outings since September, and a 3-1 victory at Cambuur a week ago today suggests that they can perform on their travels - just two losses from their last nine away from de Langeleegte an impressive return by most standards.
That makes seven unbeaten from 10 home and away, and the 10th placed side will be keen to pile the pressure on the sides above them as they look to climb the table with 10 left to play.
And Veendam forward Lars Hutten will be looking to add to his goal tally of 12 for the season, against the Eerste Divise whipping boys.
Bet 2: Veendam (AWAY) @ 2.1
Bet HERE
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Keywords: Home and Away, Veendam, Eindhoven
Source: Betfair
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