ERIK SAYS :

Ajax Amsterdam v RKC Waalwijk
Football: Netherlands, Eredivisie
Saturday, 8th August 2009 - Kickoff 18:45 CET

Ajax Amsterdam

Although having a tough start on paper, Ajax knew an excellent begin of the season grabbing a 0-2 victory on the road to FC Groningen last Sunday.

A goal from Sulejmani (att) just before halftime allowed the visitors to take a one-goal cushion into halftime and Rommedahl (att) doubled the lead half an hour into the second half.

The funny thing is that Rommedahl (att) officially was allowed to leave the club but the Danish player of the year has played an important role in the results of Ajax in the preparation period and seems to have proven to be able to strengthen the team.

Ajax has a few missing for the game against RKC Waalwijk on Saturday with Gabri (mid) sitting out with an Achilles tendon injury and Sulejmani (att) being doubtful with a knee injury.

RKC Waalwijk

RKC Waalwijk suffered a 0-1 defeat against FC Utrecht upon their return in the Eredivisie due to an early goal in the first half.

According to team manager Brood this was a huge mental blow of which the team did not manage to recover and this was shown during the rest of the game where the visitors should have scored at least twice more.

RKC Waalwijk signed a new player this week with Metaj (def) coming over from FC Groningen to replace Snoyl (def) who left to NAC Breda over the summer.

In their second game RKC Waalwijk will travel to Amsterdam and after a defeat in the first game, the team could have wished for a better opponent to recover against.

The good news for RKC Waalwijk is that the team is free from injuries and/or suspensions, but I fear this fact alone will not be enough to grab points away from home against Ajax.

THe Betting Verdict

A home win is expected which is reflected in the odds with $1.17 being on offer in general.

Although the odds are low I really can not imagine another outcome than a home win so therefore I will take Ajax with this one with high stakes with a side bet being any sending off in the game since there might be some frustration within the RKC Waalwijk team after a most probable second defeat.

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take Ajax to win (9/10)

Consider taking Sending off in the game (1/10) (Odds 4.90 at Unibet)