This week I decided to focus on the Dutch Eredivisie and the Italian Cup, giving my picks on two quite interesting matches.

Netherlands - Eredivisie: RKC Waalwijk vs. Feyenoord
04.02.2010 at 20:00

RKC remained rock bottom after losing the relegation derby to Willem II and it looks like they won't be able to avoid the drop. High-flying Feyenoord will see this game as an opportunity to cement the fourth place in the standings after the 1:1 draw with Ajax in the Klassieker.

RKC have been sitting in the relegation zone from the very start of the season and it looks as though nothing can save them from the drop. The team picked up just 12 points from 20 league games and the defeat to fellow strugglers Willem II probably marked the end of their survival hopes.
Ruud Brood’s side has nothing to hope for from a match with one of the better sides in Eredivisie, and I don’t think they can even score a single goal, let alone create a surprise.

The hosts enter this match in very poor spirits as even the players are aware that survival is now “mission impossible”. It will be difficult for RKC to produce something special against the hot Feyenoord team, even though boss Brood will have almost a full squad to choose from, with Kevin Vink and Gerard Lifondja as the only unavailable players at the moment.
RKC will have to spread the field, as they must try and win this game, which will make Feyenoord’s job a whole lot easier.

Feyenoord ended the first part of the season with five successive wins and they continued the good run of results after the winter break. The 3:0 win over PSV was the highlight of their season, while Mario Been’s side played extremely well against Venlo and Ajax, thus the players are still high on confidence. The Rotterdam based team now has a very good chance to increase the six-point advantage over their rivals for the Europa League slot, and I don’t think they'll slip up against a struggling RKC team.

Dani Fernandez and Kelvin Leerdam remain long-term absentees, while Gio van Bronckhorst is the only fresh injury concern. The captain is doubtful with a muscle problem, but if he fails to recover, former Holland international Tim de Cler is ready to step in.
This could be the only change from the side that drew with Ajax, so the boss can be pretty happy with how his team is playing at the moment.

My Betting Advice

RKC can already start preparing for the Eerste Divisie and they simply don’t have the quality to stop in-form Feyenoord. The team from Rotterdam is playing extremely well at the moment, as witnessed by the good performance in the Klassieker and I expect them to win this game with relative ease.

RKC Waalwijk vs. Feyenoord head to head stats:

Last 5 RKC Waalwijk matches:
29.01 NED 1 Willem II-RKC Waalwijk Willem II vs RKC Waalwijk goals 2:1 (1:1)
23.01 NED 1 RKC Waalwijk-NAC Breda 0:1 (0:0)
19.12 NED 1 RKC Waalwijk-Sparta RKC Waalwijk vs Sparta goals 4:1 (3:0)
12.12 NED 1 VVV Venlo-RKC Waalwijk 3:0 (2:0)
06.12 NED 1 RKC Waalwijk-PSV RKC Waalwijk vs PSV goals 0:2 (0:0)

Last 5 Feyenoord matches:
31.01 NED 1 Feyenoord - Ajax Feyenoord vs Ajax goals 1:1 (0:1)
27.01 NED CUP PSV - Feyenoord PSV vs Feyenoord goals 0:3 (0:2)
24.01 NED 1 VVV Venlo - Feyenoord VVV Venlo vs Feyenoord goals 1:1 (0:0)
22.12 NED CUP Feyenoord - AZ Alkmaar Feyenoord vs AZ Alkmaar goals 1:0 (1:0)
19.12 NED 1 Feyenoord - Willem II Feyenoord vs Willem II goals 1:0 (1:0)

Last 5 RKC Waalwijk home matches:
23.01 NED 1 RKC Waalwijk-NAC Breda 0:1 (0:0)
19.12 NED 1 RKC Waalwijk-Sparta RKC Waalwijk vs Sparta goals 4:1 (3:0)
06.12 NED 1 RKC Waalwijk-PSV RKC Waalwijk vs PSV goals 0:2 (0:0)
21.11 NED 1 RKC Waalwijk-Groningen RKC Waalwijk vs Groningen goals 3:1 (2:1)
01.11 NED 1 RKC Waalwijk-Willem II RKC Waalwijk vs Willem II goals 0:1 (0:0)

Last 5 Feyenoord away matches:
27.01 NED CUP PSV - Feyenoord PSV vs Feyenoord goals 0:3 (0:2)
24.01 NED 1 VVV Venlo - Feyenoord VVV Venlo vs Feyenoord goals 1:1 (0:0)
12.12 NED 1 Heerenveen - Feyenoord Heerenveen vs Feyenoord goals 0:2 (0:0)
29.11 NED 1 Den Haag - Feyenoord Den Haag vs Feyenoord goals 0:2 (0:1)
08.11 NED 1 AZ Alkmaar - Feyenoord AZ Alkmaar vs Feyenoord goals 1:1 (0:1)

Italy - Cup: Roma vs Udinese
04.02.2010 at 21:00

Today the Semifinals in Italian Cup will see their first leg. Udinese eliminated Milan and hope to triumph over Roma. Playing in the finals would probably mean a ticket to Europe, as they expect Inter to eliminate Fiorentina. On the other hand, Roman's priority is the league, that is to say returning to the Champions League but Ranieri won’t set the Cup aside, so I expect his players to approach this match seriously.

Today De Rossi said in an interview that Roma have never given up the chance to surprise Inter and try to win the title. This perhaps sounds too optimistic, but Roma are actually winning even though their playing style is not as good as the results.
Still, they are taking points and on Sunday they managed to beat Siena in the very last minute thanks to Okaka who went on loan to Fulham. Toni is still injured, but Totti, who missed the game last week might get back in the team. Ranieri will combine the team to rest some of the players, but Romans looked great last week against Catania, even though they played without several regular starters.

I think that Udinese will do anything to move on in the cup as a place in the finals would rescue their season. The announced line-up shows that Udinese won’t hold back, that is to say that they will fight with all they have against Roma. Their plan is clear, record a good result in the first leg and then focus on getting to the mid-table in the league, since the remaining leg will be played by the middle of April.

My Betting Advice

The odds on Roma are too low. Udinese can be dangerous and they are the worst visitors in the league, but also the team that can give a hard time to the strongest rivals. They held on well in Torino, even though they lost as Inter beat them in the last second. So, anything can happen... Considering the odds I think it's best to bet on the visitors with +1 handicap, as I don't expect them to suffer a convincing defeat at Olimpico.

Roma vs Udinese head to head stats:

Last 5 Roma matches:
31.01 ITA 1 Roma-Siena Roma vs Siena goals 2:1 (1:1)
26.01 ITA CUP Roma-Catania Roma vs Catania goals 1:0 (0:0)
23.01 ITA 1 Juventus-Roma Juventus vs Roma goals 1:2 (0:0)
17.01 ITA 1 Roma-Genoa Roma vs Genoa goals 3:0 (2:0)
12.01 ITA CUP Roma-Triestina Roma vs Triestina goals 3:1 (1:1)

Last 5 Udinese matches:
31.01 ITA 1 Catania - Udinese Catania vs Udinese goals 1:1 (0:1)
27.01 ITA CUP AC Milan - Udinese AC Milan vs Udinese goals 0:1 (0:0)
24.01 ITA 1 Udinese - Sampdoria Udinese vs Sampdoria goals 2:3 (2:1)
17.01 ITA 1 Parma - Udinese Parma vs Udinese goals 0:0 (0:0)
14.01 ITA CUP Udinese - Lumezzane Udinese vs Lumezzane goals 2:0 (1:0)

Last 5 Roma home matches:
31.01 ITA 1 Roma-Siena Roma vs Siena goals 2:1 (1:1)
26.01 ITA CUP Roma-Catania Roma vs Catania goals 1:0 (0:0)
17.01 ITA 1 Roma-Genoa Roma vs Genoa goals 3:0 (2:0)
12.01 ITA CUP Roma-Triestina Roma vs Triestina goals 3:1 (1:1)
09.01 ITA 1 Roma-Chievo Roma vs Chievo goals 1:0 (1:0)

Last 5 Udinese away matches:
31.01 ITA 1 Catania - Udinese Catania vs Udinese goals 1:1 (0:1)
27.01 ITA CUP AC Milan - Udinese AC Milan vs Udinese goals 0:1 (0:0)
17.01 ITA 1 Parma - Udinese Parma vs Udinese goals 0:0 (0:0)
06.01 ITA 1 Bari - Udinese Bari vs Udinese goals 2:0 (1:0)
13.12ITA 1 Siena - Udinese Siena vs Udinese goals 2:1 (0:0)

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Best Of Luck and have a great Weekend!