It happens from time to time that great nations fail to make it to a major tournament. For the Netherlands, the danger is already there after the opening match in Turkey, which went very badly wrong. On the second matchday, the “Elftal” is already under pressure.
Now it’s against Latvia, one of the glaring outsiders in the World Cup qualifiers. It comes as no surprise that the betting odds before the match between Netherlands and Latvia show the hosts as clear favourites. After the clear defeat at the start, a reaction is needed.
The match at the Johan Cruijff ArenA in Amsterdam, officiated by referee Stephanie Frappart from France, will take place early on Saturday evening at 6pm.
Prediction & Live Odds for Netherlands vs. Latvia 27/03/2021
The pre-match signals are as clear as they can be. The Netherlands have anger in their bellies and also the pressure to win this game against Latvia. And coach de Boer’s eleven has a lot of quality, even if that was not always noticeable against Turkey. The hosts did not lose five of their last six matches against high-level opponents, proving that a lot is possible on a good day.
The question in this game will be how quickly Holland can break through the Latvian bulwark. The sooner this happens, the higher the chance of a clear victory. Due to the omens, our tip for the match between Netherlands and Latvia at good odds is that OVER 3.5 goals will be scored.
Netherlands – Statistics & current form
Coach Frank de Boer’s team had imagined a very different start to their World Cup qualifying campaign. Holland lost 4-2 against Turkey. The team, with players like de Ligt, de Jong, Wijnaldum and Depay actually very prominent, made numerous mistakes, especially defensively.
That should now change against Latvia, a clear underdog. Ahead of the match between Holland and Latvia, the odds offered by the best bookmakers show that it is well worth considering a big win for the “Elftal”. A bet on a simple home win is “rewarded” with vanishingly low betting odds.
It is no surprise that the Dutch are the clear favourites going into the match. After all, Latvia is a real football dwarf in comparison and they once again has a generation that can make a splash at a major tournament. The only thing is that they have to qualify first. Holland has been absent from three of the last five World Cup tournaments (2002 and 2018).
Is Netherlands celebrating a shooting match?
Even if Netherlands’ opener went wrong, Latvia, Gibraltar, Norway, Montenegro and Turkey are unbeatable opponents on the programme. Against Latvia, who are defensively very vulnerable and individually inferior, a very clear result could be in the offing. Good results are also very important in view of the upcoming European Championship in the summer, for which all information can be found on Betting.
The game against Latvia will be a very different one in any case. Before the Turkey game, there were five games in a row without defeat for the hosts anyway. Due to the offensive power and superiority, our prediction before the Holland vs Latvia match is that more than 3.5 goals will be scored.
A conversion is quite possible. Because against an inferior opponent, Holland will create more chances and could benefit from a penalty area striker. Luuk de Jong, who came off the bench against Turkey, should start from the beginning. In any case, a win is a must given the starting position.
Projected line-up of Netherlands:
Krul – Tete, de Ligt, Blind, van Aanholt – de Jong, van de Beek, Wijnaldum – Bergwijn, Depay, de Jong
Latvia – Statistics & current form
Latvia are the heavy underdogs in this match. The visitors are one of the smaller football nations in Europe, but they did not play too badly at the start. Latvia only lost 2-1 at home to Montenegro, which was something of a respectable result for coach Dainis Kazakevics’ side.
The odds on a win for the visitors before the match between Holland and Latvia show just how clearly inferior the Baltic nation is on paper. The odds at Betsson, the bookmaker tested by Wettbasis, are 101.00! A success would be a big sensation.
In the international year 2020 there was only one defeat for Latvia. However, it should also be mentioned here that five of the eight games in the calendar year ended in a draw and the opponents were Andorra, Malta and the Faroe Islands due to their classification in the Nations League. In other words, Latvia has not had to deal with a team of the calibre of the Netherlands for a long time.
Latvia hope defence holds out
Given the opponents in the last calendar year, it is also not very informative to take a closer look at Latvia’s goal conceded statistics. The team never conceded more than one goal, but that is not meaningful. In any case, Latvia last played with a 4-4-2 system, which will probably not be used this time. A somewhat more defensive basic alignment is likely to be the method of choice.
A lot depends on how Latvia’s defence works. The earlier a goal is scored for the hosts, the greater the danger of a debacle. The stamina factor is also a relevant one, because Latvia will have to chase a lot. Therefore, our tip before the match Holland vs. Latvia is that more than 3.5 goals will be scored. More tips around the World Cup qualifier can be found on Bettingbase.
Predicted line-up of Latvia:
Steinbors – Savalnieks, Oss, Maksimenko, Cernomordijs, Jurkovskis – Zjuzins, Tobers, Kamess, Ciganiks – Ikaunieks