Malky Mackay is in interim charge of Scotland here as they begin life after Gordon Strachan in Aberdeen. It was a familiar tale for the Scots as they found some form as World Cup qualifying progressed but ultimately again fell just short to extend their long wait for a an appearance at a major championship. It’s also two successive qualifying failures for the Dutch, so neither side will be feeling too positive about life heading into this one.
Overall though it is the Dutch who have more quality and they will fancy they can win the game. They were in a tough group, finishing below group winners France while Sweden edged them out for 2nd place on goal difference. Dick Advocaat, appointed midway through the campaign, has generally improved things though and can now seriously begin the task of trying to get Dutch football on an upward curve again.
They scored 2.1 goals per game during the group and the likes of Wesley Sneijder and Steven Berghuis return to the squad here. Although clearly not a golden generation of talent, the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Jasper Cillessen and Kevin Strootman are also involved and there’s enough quality there to suggest they will see off the Scots.
Up top, Vincent Janssen is likely to lead the line. Although he struggled in England last season at Spurs, he does have a decent record in the orange jersey of Holland. He’s scored in 4 of their last 5 away friendlies and backing Janssen to score anytime could be worth a bet.
Scotland’s hopes here are hampered by the withdrawal of both Leigh Griffiths and Darren Fletcher and there is a very inexperienced feel to their squad for this game. 8 members of their 22 man squad are yet to make their debut for Scotland and it’s a really bold move from Mackay, who perhaps feels he has nothing to lose.
The selection of just two forwards in the shape of uncapped duo Jason Cummings and Ryan Christie is a particularly odd one, with the likes of Chris Martin, Steven Fletcher and Jordan Rhodes all overlooked. Against a weaker team you could understand it to some extent but the Dutch are still a dangerous side on their day and their squad is much less experimental. If things click here they could enjoy a profitable evening at Pittodrie which makes backing an Away Win look pretty good, particularly given they’ve won 6 of their last 7 internationals.
They’ve only kept 1 clean sheet in 4 matches this season though so going for Holland to Win & Both Teams to Score could also be worth a bet.
Netherlands have won the last 3 meetings, scoring 10 goals without reply. The most recent clashes came as the Dutch took maximum points from their two meetings with Scotland during 2010 World Cup qualifying.
Holland have scored 3 or more goals in 4 of their last 6 international matches. Scotland haven’t scored more than once in any of their last 8 friendly matches.
We recommend to bet on this match: Netherlands win @ 1.86
