Prediction: Netherlands vs Poland

Prediction: Draw

Best Odds: 7/2

Bookmaker: Betfair

European football is slowly but surely starting to return with a brand new season after an incredibly short absence, but for the next few days, the international game is going to become the core focal point – and that means the return of the UEFA Nations League. The Netherlands and Poland will be clashing heads later on this week in what many consider to be a hyped up friendly, but with UEFA Euro 2021 coming up next season, this could serve as an important psychological edge for the winner.

Netherlands

The Dutch may not have won their group, but they did a pretty great job of pushing Germany all the way before securing qualification. Back in September they even beat their rivals 4-2, and from that point on, they were on fire. They ran through Estonia and Northern Ireland, beat Belarus again, and smashed another five goals past Estonia in the return fixture. They did draw 0-0 against NI but they did enough to finally return to tournament qualification.

Team News

Lodeweges will be in charge as caretaker manager after Koeman left to become the new Barcelona manager. Blind and van Aanholt are unavailable with de Ligt also being missing for the squad, opening the door for Ake or de Vrij to feature.

Poland

Winning the group was never going to be a foregone conclusion for the Poles, but they managed it, becoming the fourth team to qualify for the finals. A 2-0 loss against Slovenia followed by a 0-0 draw against Austria set Poland back, but they were flawless from there until the end of qualification. They beat Latvia, North Macedonia and Israel, prior to a narrow triumph over Slovenia which provided them with a nice slice of revenge.

Team News

Lewandowski will not be playing for Poland after his exploits in the Champions League with Bayern Munich, with Bereszynski being tipped to make his debut. Krychowiak will be an important star in the middle of the park for the visitors, whereas Goralski and Klich are both hoping to join him in midfield for this intriguing clash of styles against the Netherlands.

Factors to Consider

• Netherlands and beat Poland 2-1 in a friendly back in 2016.
• Netherlands have won five and drawn one of their last six games.
• Poland have won four, drawn one and lost one of their last six games.
• Netherlands have scored 18 goals and conceded four in their last six games.
• Poland have scored 10 goals and conceded five in their last six games.

Conclusion

Both of these nations have fire power and they’re both tight at the back, which is why they’re going to be so difficult to play against in the Euros next year. In this game, however, we do expect something of a stalemate to emerge between them – if only because the priority of the players will be on the start of domestic football with the new season. Both teams should get on the scoresheet, making for an entertaining chess game that ends 1-1.

Prediction: Draw

Best Odds: 7/2

Bookmaker: Betfair