NETHERLANDS welcome Austria to Amsterdam on Thursday night for a Group C showdown from Euro 2020. Brett Curtis (@Brett_Curtis92) is on-hand to deliver his favourite fancies.
Netherlands vs Austria | Thursday 17th June 2020, 20:00 | BBC
Netherlands take on Austria at the Amsterdam Arena on Thursday in an 8pm kick-off.
Both nations won exciting opening matches on Sunday, so can play with reduced pressure here.
Frank de Boer's side were thrilling offensively but a little slack out of possession, especially after going 2-0 up in the second half, allowing Andriy Yarmolenko far too much time and space to pull one back for Ukraine before Roman Yaremchuk equalised with a header.
Austria have only failed to score in one of their last 10 competitive matches, so clearly have the attacking firepower to hurt Netherlands if their defensive frailties remain.
Likewise, though, Austria have kept just two clean sheets in that run – against Northern Ireland and Romania – so the likes of Wout Weghorst, Memphis Depay and Georginio Wijnaldum will fancy their chances of continuing to fire on all cylinders.
My first play, then, is a straightforward one: Netherlands to win and both teams to score at 11/4 (SkyBet). Three of their last five competitive victories have come in this manner, with the two clean sheets coming against Gibraltar and Latvia.
A word of advice: if you're making this bet, do it on bet365's Bet Builder, as with their early payout offer, your bet will still win even if Netherlands throw away another two-goal lead.
It's beyond stupid that they don't pay out if you bet this on the ‘Match Result & Both Teams To Score' market, but I've been stung by this myself in the past and wouldn't want anyone else to fall foul of it.
I've got a similarly priced bet with them that I'm keen on: Wijnaldum and Marcel Sabitzer each to have Over 1.5 Shots in the match.
Wijnaldum scored Netherlands' opener against Ukraine in a fine display. He plays a completely different role for his country than he did for Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool, with the 30-year-old having five shots across the 90 minutes.
Sabitzer is certainly capable of unleashing, too, and he had two shots in Austria's 3-1 win against North Macedonia. If he is afforded as much room as Yarmolenko was outside of the area, he won't hesitate to have a crack. He's often on penalties and free-kicks, too.
Lastly, it would be rude not to put up a longshot for this one, and one man I loved watching in the Bundesliga last season was Wout Weghorst.
The 6ft 6in striker is more well-rounded than his height might make people think: yes, he's good in the air, but he's also reasonably quick and fits the awful “great touch for a big man” cliché.
I fancy him to score again, and couldn't help but notice he made four fouls against Ukraine. Israeli referee Orel Grinfeld is unlikely to take too kindly if that continues against Austria, so 20/1 (Betfair) for Weghorst to score and be carded looks a decent price.
The 28-year-old has been carded 39 times in 250 matches during his time in Netherlands and Germany, so certainly isn't a stranger to the official's book.
Best Bets
Netherlands vs Austria – Netherlands to win and Both Teams To Score (11/4 Skybet)
Netherlands vs Austria – Georginio Wijnaldum and Marcel Sabitzer both to have Over 1.5 Shots (21/10 Bet365)
Netherlands vs Austria – Wout Weghorst to score and be carded (20/1 Betfair)
