Telstar vs Utrecht Prediction

Two sides stuck in the same rut

Look at their last seven league games and the two teams are almost mirror images. Both have exactly one win, two draws and four defeats, which is about as similar as form can get.

Telstar: 20 completed matches; Utrecht: 20 completed matches.

Telstar

20 matches

Win

35% 7 / 20

Draw

15% 3 / 20

Loss

50% 10 / 20

Scored

31

Conceded

35

Difference

-4

Utrecht

20 matches

Win

35% 7 / 20

Draw

15% 3 / 20

Loss

50% 10 / 20

Scored

32

Conceded

45

Difference

-13

The difference is in the goals. Utrecht have been scoring more but leaking far more too, conceding 24 in those seven games against 11 scored. Telstar have gone the other way, managing just five goals themselves but keeping it tighter at the back with 12 conceded.

Utrecht's leaky defence against Telstar's blunt attack is the kind of mismatch that could open this game up either way.

Comparative Team Statistics: Telstar vs Utrecht

Only two previous meetings on record

The sides have faced off twice that we can see, both from last season. Utrecht won 4-1 away from home in April, then earlier in the campaign the game at Telstar finished 1-1.

That's a pretty mixed set of results and from a different point in both teams' seasons, so it shouldn't carry much weight for what happens this time.

Both just above the bottom of the table

Telstar sit 13th and Utrecht 15th, but they're level on five points from seven games. There's barely anything separating them in the table right now.

Neither has built any kind of cushion yet this season, which fits with how similar their recent form has looked.

Stepanov the main threat, one card concern

Utrecht's Artem Stepanov has been their standout performer, with five goals in six appearances, so he's clearly the player Telstar need to watch.

Telstar:

Penalty cards:

N. Þórisson x 1 x 1

R. Koeman x 2

Utrecht:

Best scorers:

Artem Stepanov - 5

Penalty cards:

A. Zagré x 2

D. de Wit x 2

On the discipline side, Telstar's N. Þórisson has picked up a yellow and a red in just three matches, which is worth keeping an eye on given how often he's involved. Utrecht's Zagré and de Wit, plus Telstar's Koeman, have each picked up two yellows in seven games, nothing alarming there.

What kind of game this could be

Put the pieces together and this doesn't look like a fixture with an obvious script. Utrecht have the game's likely top threat in Stepanov but keep conceding freely, while Telstar defend a bit tighter but rarely trouble the scoresheet themselves.

Given how evenly matched their recent form and table position are, this has the feel of a scrappy, tight contest rather than anything one-sided.