FC Volendam vs Almere City predictions for Friday evening’s Eerste Divisie encounter at Kras Stadion. Can new Eerste Divisie leaders Almere City extend their advantage at the top this week when they take on FC Volendam? Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.

It’s onto match day nine this week and we have new leaders in Eerste Divisie. Almere City bagged their fourth win on the bounce at home to NEC last Friday to hit the front, showing that they’re the real deal this term and capable of mixing it with the biggest names in the second tier. Volendam are up next for City at Kras Stadion, with the hosts feeling good after gaining their first win of the campaign on match day eight under new caretaker boss Hans de Koning.

Roma loanee Eduardo Soleri was the hero for Almere City at Yanmar Stadion last Friday, as the 20 year-old’s third goal of the season proved enough for Schapenkoppen to notch a vital 1-0 success over their likely promotion rivals.

That was City’s sixth win from their eight league matches this term, and the result propelled them above Go Ahead Eagles and into a two point lead at the top of the table.

And with their first five victories coming against teams sitting in the bottom half of the league, City demonstrated that they’re not just flat track bullies, in overcoming the Nijmegen outfit who were 5^th heading into the contest.

It’s perhaps still too early to suggest that City can end their 14 year stay in Eerste Divisie this season, but fans will certainly be dreaming of just that and potentially facing the likes of Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord in 2019/20.

City have to keep their momentum going with just one automatic promotion spot up for grabs, and they’ll be fancied to land a fifth win on the spin against Volendam at Kras Stadion this week, despite the hosts sealing their first win of the campaign at home on match day eight.

The arrival of Hans de Koning had an immediate impact on Palingboeren, who took the lead early against RKC through Cas Peters and held their nerve to secure a 1-0 triumph.

It was a crucial three points to lift spirits at the club after an atrocious start to 2018/19, and Volendam will have a renewed confidence going into this week’s encounter with the current front runners.

Nonetheless, Volendam are still 16^th in the table with just six points on the board, which is 13 shy of Almere who boast a 100% away record this term after three wins from three.

Almere haven’t beaten Volendam at Kras Stadion since the 2014/15 campaign, but they look a different beast this season under the guidance of Santoni, who has so far brought their away form in line with what we’re used to seeing from them at Yanmar Stadion.

Volendam have only lost one from four in the league at home this season, but the likes of Oss, RKC, Jong AZ and Den Bosch (who handed Volendam their only defeat at Kras Stadion on the opening night) operate on a completely different level to this Almere side, and we’re backing City to prevail, albeit in a tight affair, 0-1.

Volendam have 12 victories to Almere City's six from 27 previous encounters. Last season's fixtures saw Almere win 2-0 at Yanmar Stadion, whilst the sides played out a 1-1 draw here.

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