The Netherlands and Italy meet in a football classic this Monday night. This is the derby of the day and the most interesting contest of the entire round. Both sides are in excellent shape and are looking to continue with their recent streak of results. UEFA Nations League is the first step on their way back to the top of continental football, and the best possible test before the European Championship, set for 2021.
Preview
The Netherlands (+125) seems solid at the moment. Since the last year’s UEFA Nations League finals in which they lost to Portugal, Oranje posted six wins and a defeat. Furthermore, they didn’t allow a single goal in the previous three matches. Though, we need to say that apart from Poland, they didn’t have some high-caliber opponents across them (Estonia and Nothern Ireland).
What might be problematic is the fact that Ronald Koeman left recently, accepting Barcelona’s offer. Right now, Dwight Lodeweges is the caretaker manager and a person who will lead them in tonight’s match. He has Ruud Van Nistelrooy besides him, and a well-organized team, but still, this might be a deficit at some point during the contest.
Five of the lastest seven events in which they haven’t lost ended with over 2.5 goals. A 1-0 win against Poland was fully deserved, and don’t be fulled by the final score, because Oranje played much better.
Italy (+225) interrupted its 11-match winning streak, with a surprising 1-1 draw at home against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Azzuri were excellent in both recent clashes against the sam opponents, beating them 2-1 in Italy and 0-3 on the road, but on Friday, the simply couldn’t break the resistance of Dzeko and the boys.
Furthermore, B&H had a few chances, which could earn them a victory if there were more luck and concentration on their side.
For sure, this is something Roberto Mancini didn’t count on, and he will be looking to bounce back immediately in order to avoid possible issues with the morale or something like that. Italy can’t afford to risk their status of the A-league team, let alone go to the lower tier.
Head to Head Record
So far, there have been 21 games between these two nations, with the record being heavily in Italy’s favor. They posted nine wins, nine matches saw no winners, and Oranje won on just three occasions.
At the moment, Azzuri have five straight contest without a defeat, with the latest one taking place two years ago in Turin, 1-1. The Netherlands’ previous victory was in 2008.
Prediction
Italy didn’t expect to lose two points at home, while the Netherlands didn’t expect to lose its head coach. The bottom line of this match. We believe that the Italians suffered less damage when comparing these two situations, and that is why we want to bet on their win.
The odds on that are very high +225, and if you want to decrease the risk, go with a double chance, draw or Italy, with the odds set at -185.
Nikola Velickovic is a sports journalist who loves to write and read on all sports. Nikola contributes both news updates and functions as a sports breaking news writer at WagerBop.
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