Friday 23rd March 2018

Holland v England 19:45

Yes, they are not everyone’s cup of tea but like it or not we’ve got an International break this weekend.

This set of matches will have more importance for the 32 sides that have qualified for the World Cup in the summer as the sides look to fine-tune their squads for the final call-ups later in the year.

One of those teams that have made it to the Russian-hosted finals is England and they make the trip across Europe to take on Holland, who are actually one of the bigger names NOT to have qualified for the 2018 World Cup.

These two big world footballing nations have played 20 times in their histories and there is not much between them, with Holland having 6 wins, England 5, plus 9 draws.

They last clashed in 2016 at Wembley which finished England 1-2 Holland, while the previous meeting – also at Wembley – also saw the Dutch win. This time it was England 2-3-Holland.

The match betting reflects how evenly-matched the sides are too with Holland on offer at 2.62, the Draw 3.25 and England 2.70.

What are the stats saying?

If FIFA Rankings are anything to go on then with England in 16th and Holland in 21st then the visitors would get the call but with home advantage and the fact Holland are unbeaten in their last 4 home games against England then it’s a tough one to call.

England last beat Holland away in 1969 but despite that being a long time ago they’ve only actually met 4 times on Dutch soil since then. It is worth remembering that 3 of those 4 repeat fixtures ended in DRAWS.

Holland head into the match having won their last 5 but it’s a similar story for England too as they come here unbeaten in their last 6 matches.

Leicester’s Jamie Vardy was the last Englishman to score against Holland and with Harry Kane injured then the Foxes man could easily get a look-in here in what will be his 20th cap, while if he does score it will be his 7th for his country.

Jermain Defoe also has history scoring against Holland – the Bournemouth striker scored a brace against them away back in 2009.

Will there be goals in the game? Both teams have scored in 5 of the last 6 head-to-heads so there is a good chance we will see plenty of action, while the last 3 clashes also went OVER 2.5 GOALS.

Both teams to find the back of the net can be backed at 1.83, while 3 (or more) goals in the game is on offer at 2.10.

However, it is worth pointing out that England have struggled to find the back of the net in recent games – their last two vs Germany and Brazil ended 0-0, while the Three Lions have scored just 2 times in their last 4 matches.

Overall, it’s a tough one to call. Holland have nothing to lose and as pointing out aren’t in the World Cup this summer, while England could be tampering with the side a lot during the game with no Kane.

Both sides are also in decent form heading into the game but despite recent head-to-heads between the sides suggesting goals the current scoring form of England might put punters off their being goals in the game.

Both teams to score catches the eye more though, than Over 2.5 Goals, but really to us the value and safest option to us looks to be to side with the draw at 3.25 don’t forget, this bet has rewarded backers in all of the last three times these sides have met in Holland.

Best Bet: DRAW @3.25

 

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Holland v England 19:45

  • Last met 2016, England 1-2 Holland
  • Last repeat fixture (2009), Holland 2-2 England
  • FIFA Rankings, England 16, Holland 21
  • Met 20 times, Holland 6, Draw 9, England 5
  • Holland have won the last 2 head-to-heads
  • Holland are unbeaten in their last 4 home games vs England
  • England last beat Holland away in 1969
  • The last 3 head-to-heads played in Holland ended in score DRAWS
  • Holland are unbeaten in their last 7 vs England
  • Both teams have scored in 5 of the last 6 head-to-heads
  • The last 3 head-to-heads went OVER 2.5 GOALS
  • England are unbeaten in their last 6 games
  • England have scored just 2 goals in their last 4 games
  • England’s last 4 games went UNDER 2.5 GOALS
  • Both teams DIDN’T score in 4 of England’s last 5 games
  • Holland have won their last 5 games
  • 4 of Holland’s last 6 games went OVER 2.5 GOALS