Our prediction for this Netherlands Eredivisie match:
Mandemakers Stadion will host Saturday’s Eredivisie game between RKC Waalwijk and Sparta Rotterdam, the two teams with entirely different ambitions for the remainder of the season. RKC are fighting tooth and nail to secure the top flight survival, while the Rotterdammers are eyeing a spot in European competitions. Henk Fraser’s troops do not seem to be at their sharpest, with the team collecting only one point in total from the last five league matches and that is the main reason why home win should not be considered.
Talented midfielder Chris Lokesa is widely expected to return to the starting XI, whereas there are no fresh injury worries in the home team. Sparta, meanwhile, failed to turn their dominance into goals in a 2-0 loss to Go Ahead Eagles, but they are surely capable of beating the out-of-sorts relegation strugglers. Midfielder Koki Saito should be the only absentee in the away team.
Highlighted Team (Waalwijk):
RKC Waalwijk is a Dutch club that competes in the Eredivisie. RKC returned to the Dutch top flight in the 2019/20 season, and they were more than fortunate not to suffer relegation back to Eerste Divisie. Fred Grim’s men were stuck at the bottom of the table when the season was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As a result, they did not drop to the Dutch second tier. RKC play home games at Mandemakers Stadion, the venue which can hold only 7,500 spectators. RKC Waalwijk are well known for their yellow shirts with blue strips, but their away kit is mainly black. The Mandemakers Stadion outfit have never won the national championship.
RKC, though, represented the Netherlands in European competitions in the past, with team taking part in Intertoto Cup on four occasions. Willem II are seen as one of the club’s main rivals, with the two teams facing each other in the Brabantse derby.