FC Den Bosch is one of the teams that is nominated to get a ticket for the playoffs. To keep that chance alive the Brabant meeting with RKC Waalwijk has to be won.

FC Den Bosch started the season energetically and as a result the ambitions were quickly expressed again. A ticket for the playoffs seemed and seems to belong to the possibilities, but for that everything will have to be. Towards the end of 2017, the team of coach Wil Boessen had to deal with a form dip and that made it possible for competitors to whip over the Bosschenaren. Currently the Brabanders are in tenth place, a position that offers opportunities, but there will have to be done to close the gap with the best seven clubs. That gap is only four points, but it will not be easy to bring in teams like Almere City. FC Den Bosch recently seemed to be on track to realize a series of victories. At home there was won from Telstar and FC Eindhoven, but last week went wrong visiting Jong PSV. The match against RKC Waalwijk now offers Boessen’s team an excellent opportunity to work on confidence.

The last game against Young PSV was on a Monday night on the program and therefore there was a chance that the team from Eindhoven would come with a strong team. This indeed turned out to be the case. Players like Eloy Room, Sam Lammers, Albert Gudmundsson and Pablo Rosario were at the kick-off and that positively influenced the performance of the hosts. FC Den Bosch initially played well in the Jan Louwers Stadium. Muhammed Mert undoed the opening goal of Gudmundsson, but after halftime it was Lammers who gave the hosts the three runs.

Boessen has to improvise again Friday night to come to his best eleven. The attack is currently the problem child since Dennis Kaars and Giorgio Siani can not start. Candle may be part of the game selection, but for a basic place it is still too early anyway. This gives the somewhat disappointing Jort van der Sande the chance to show his qualities once again. Mats Deijl and Oussama Bouyaghlafen have succeeded in showing their fitness during the final training, but they will start on the bench.

RKC Waalwijk qualified for the playoffs last season, but that does not seem to happen this year. De Brabanders could still get a period title, but that really requires a miracle. The poor performance of before the winter break resulted in the dismissal of Peter van den Berg in December. Hans de Koning, who then took over the helm, has not yet succeeded in getting RKC back to playing football. A tight 1-0 victory over Young AZ is the only win that was made in the last nine games and therefore it is not surprising that the Brabanters have now sank to the eighteenth place. Helmond Sport and Jong FC Utrecht are the only teams that perform worse. There is not really a view of progress. From the last five games, a meager point was caught and as a result, self-confidence is at a low point. RKC will certainly be the underdog in the game with FC Den Bosch.

Two weeks ago, RKC was presented with the ultimate opportunity to once again win a victory. The away match against Young FC Utrecht was on the program and against the worst team of the Jupiler League it should still succeed. Nothing turned out to be less true. RKC Waalwijk went through a bit and that resulted in a 5-2 loss. Last week De Koning’s formation did prevent a defeat by keeping SC Cambuur 0-0. A pretty solid result, especially given the red card from Ingo van Weert in the 71st minute, but certainly no result of which the hearts of the fans beat faster.

This red card from Van Weert ensures that RKC Waalwijk will play a different composition against FC Den Bosch. The KNVB decided to suspend the defender for two matches. Opposite the loss of Van Weert is the return of the experienced Paul Quasten. The wing supporter missed a lot of matches because of his injury, but this week he is back again. That does not apply to Dylan Seys and Jan Lammers. They are still missing in the selection of De Koning.

PREDICTION: Den Bosch to win @ 1.78