Netherlands vs France Prediction and Preview – 25/03/16
International Friendly preview – Netherlands vs France prediction.
Erik Pieters, Daryl Janmaat, Ron Vlaar and Jurgen Locadia were late withdrawals from the Netherlands squad and coach Danny Blind has called-up Sunderland left-back Patrick Van Aanholt, Stoke midfielder Ibrahim Afellay and PSV midfielder Davy Propper to bolster the squad. Rick Karsdrop is the only recognised right-back and could be handed his debut against France. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar appears to be the number one striker after Robin Van Persie was ignored for the second time since the Dutch failed to reach the Euro 2016 finals.
France have selection problems in every position and coach Didier Deschamps has turned to the Premier League to boost the squad numbers. Leicester midfielder N’Golo Kante is in line for his international debut while Anthony Martial, Olivier Giroud, Bacaray Sagna, Yohan Cabaye, Dimitri Payet, Moussa Sissoko and Mamouda Sakho flew from England to join the squad in Clairefontaine on Monday. Off-field problems have caused Karim Benzema’s exclusion and Giroud is favourite to spearhead the attack against Netherlands on Friday.
Possible Line-ups
Netherlands 4-3-3 formation: Cillessen; Karsdrop, Bruma, Blind, Willems; Wijnaldum, Clasie, Sneijder; Narsingh, Huntelaar, Promes
France 4-3-3 formation: Mandanda; Jallet, Varane, Sakho, Evra; Matuidi, Cabaye, Pogba; Martial, Giroud, Griezmann
Statistics
- Netherlands have won 5 drawn 1 and lost 4 of their last 10 matches
- France have won 6 drawn 0 and lost 4 of their last 10 matches
- Over the course of their previous 10 matches, Netherlands have scored an average of 2.1 goals and conceded an average of 1.5 goals per game
- Over the course of their previous 10 matches, France have scored an average of 1.7 goals and conceded an average of 1.2 goals per game
- There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 6 of Netherlands’ previous 10 matches
- There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 4 of France’s previous 10 matches
Prediction
France have been preparing for the European Championships by arranging fixtures with some of the world’s highest ranked sides and have played five of FIFA’s top ten in the last 12 months. Of those, Deschamps side has lost to Brazil, Belgium and England while picking up victories against Germany and Portugal. The 2-0 defeat against England at Wembley in November ended a run of five consecutive wins in which they scored 11 and conceded two.
Netherlands’ failure to qualify for Euro 2016 has cast a shadow over the national team. The 3-2 defeat by Czech Republic in the final group game was their third consecutive home defeat and Danny Blind will lead the side out at the Amsterdam Arena for its first appearance in front of home support since their exit for the competition was confirmed. Netherlands traveled to Wales and recorded a 3-2 victory in Cardiff last November, their second victory in five games.
Netherlands form is patchy but they carry enough goal threat to make an exciting match up with a re-shuffled French side.
Tips
Draw at 12/5 with bet365
Over 2.5 goals at 5/4 with Coral
Correct Score 2-2 at 18/1 with William Hill
Click here to see more International previews, predictions and tips