Netherlands vs France
European Qualifiers – 2018 World Cup
Date: Monday, 10th October 2016
Kick-off: 19:45 UK
Venue: Amsterdam Arena.
Followers of the beautiful game have a real treat in store on Monday evening when two of European football’s heavyweights clash at the Amsterdam Arena in Netherlands and France, live on ITV4.
The hosts, three-time World Cup runners-up, welcome former champions France to town eager to improve on their failure to reach this summer’s European Championships. Bookmakers have gone all out to mark the occasion, laying on a host of betting opportunities to satisfy even the most picky of punters.
Team News – Netherlands
Three sides currently top Group A on four points after two games played – Netherlands, France and Sweden – and both nations here arrive on the back of convincing wins last time out. Oranje put four past Belarus on Friday night, to lead the pack on goal-difference.
Goals from Klaassen, Janssen and a Promes double suggested the ‘total football’ we have come to expect from Holland over the years wasn’t far off a return. Spartak Moscow winger Quincy Promes opened the scoring that evening with a well-taken strike and the 24-year-old has been priced up to do the same again at a favourable 21/2 first goal or 15/4 with BetVictor anytime. Fancy him to pick up where he left off against Belarus and bag another brace? Well it’s certainly a big ask but there are big rewards at 33/1 with Bet365.
Despite failing to qualify for Euro 2016, that weekend win was the home side’s third from their last five, with the others coming against Poland and Austria, and if that form is to your liking then be sure to get on the locals with Coral as they don’t fancy it at all and go 5/2 on Danny Blind’s men taking all three points and a commanding lead in the group.
Antepost backers will also be enthused by Bet365’s 7/4 on Netherland’s finishing pool A as winners while qualification looks a foregone conclusion at a skimpy 2/7 with BetVictor. Just remember, those prices will shorten dramatically if they secure a win over their nearest rivals, so get involved sooner rather than later with those bets. Holland making history and going on to win the World Cup hasn’t been written off completely, but it’s plenty big enough at 25/1 (Bet365).
Team News – France
Like their opponents, Les Bleus notched up a 4-1 win on Friday night, beating Bulgaria thanks to goals from Payet, Griezmann and a Gameiro double (highlights below). That all came after falling behind to a Aleksandrov penalty after six-minutes but the match was dead and buried as a spectacle by half-time and the destination of the points never in question.
Didier Deschamps takes his side into this clash on a fantastic run of form, having won four of their last six, with a 0-0 draw against Belarus in game one and that rather famous 1-0 loss to Portugal in the European Championship final the only slight blot on their copybook. It’s a run that certainly appears to have won over the odds compilers and an away win has been jotted down as a 7/5 shot with Paddy Power while a draw, which would be both side’s second in three, isn’t a bad idea at 23/10 when betting with 888sport.
The head-to-head record between these sides could hardly be tighter, reading 10 wins each with four drawn. This will be the second pairing this year, with France winning 3-2 back in March courtesy of a late winning goal from Blaise Matuidi. The 29-year-old PSG midfielder is 18/1 with 888sport in the last goalscorer market for this rematch while another 2-3 correct score can be tried at 33/1 (Bet365).
Predictions & Betting Tips
This promises to be a fantastic spectacle of football and a real treat for fans. It’s certainly one I’m looking forward to, but we’ve got to put that aside and think about turning a profit. That’s the game we’re in. Holland have been off-colour recently and the form points to an away win. France have won each of the last two meetings between these sides and I expect them to make it a hat-trick.
It’s not a bet I’m going to have personally however and would much rather take the smart (cowardly) way out and avoid the match winner market. Instead, it’s worth knowing that four of the last six meetings of these nations has ended with both sides finding the net and that trend to continue is worth a go at even money with William Hill. The fact the no option is 10/11 shows bookmakers are at a loss as to how to call this one. I’m happy to trust in the stats and that’s my best bet.
Goals are often a feature of this match too with four of the last six involving these two producing over 2.5 goals. The same again in the total goals betting market is a delightful 13/10 with BetVictor and is another I’ll try my luck with. Let’s just hope these two great sides play to their potential and we can watch the goals flood in.
France defeated Netherlands by a 3-2 score-line, when they met for a friendly on March 2016. This is their second win in a row with both coming in a friendly meetings.
This is the first time these two sides are meeting in a qualifying fixture since their two meetings in the group stage of 1982 World Cup Qualifiers. The teams shared a win each on that occasion, both in the respective home fixtures.
It is hard to separate the two teams looking at their over head-to-head stats. France have won 11 and Netherlands 10 from the 24 meetings between these them, with 3 matches seeing draws.
Netherlands vs France: Prediction
There is little difference on form between these two sides at the moment. And as seen in previous meetings, the matches between France and Netherlands are often closely contested. Also, both sides are famous for their occasional inconsistency. So it is better to ignore the full-time result and look into the goal markets for this fixture.
Four of the last six meetings between France and Netherlands have seen over 2.5 goals. And if you ignore the stats from Euro 2016, 7 of the last 10 matches of both sides in all competitions have produced more than 3 goals. So it is better to pick over 2.5 goals for this fixture and it is very likely that both teams will score at least once here.
Netherlands vs France: Betting Tips
Both teams to Score at 1.95
Over 2.5 goals at 2.20.
