Netherlands vs Ukraine
Netherlands vs Ukraine is the late game on June 13, taking place at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam. Frank de Boer’s Dutch side will be looking to get their Group C campaign off to a good start against a Ukraine side who have never got past the group stage in their two appearances in the tournament. The Netherlands won the European Championships back in 1988 but haven’t qualified for a major tournament since 2016. Read on for our match analysis, game predictions and betting tips.
Form
The last couple of years have been relatively successful for the Netherlands, with just one defeat coming in their last eight internationals. Although Frank de Boer’s team have scored 16 times in their last five games it’s worth noting that seven of those came against Gibraltar. They have some indifferent form in Amsterdam too, having won two and lost two of their last five games at the Johan Cruyff Arena
Ukraine’s form in comparison is nothing short of dreadful. A shock 1-0 win against Spain in the Nations League in Kyiv in October was their sole victory in their last 11 games. Their last three competitive internationals have all ended in draws while their first warm-up match against the might of Bahrain also finished as a 1-1 draw. Defensively Ukraine are poor, with just one clean sheet in 12 games and a whopping 26 conceded in that span.
Injuries
The most notable absence in the Dutch team is Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk, who injured his ACL in a collision with Everton keeper Jordan Pickford last October. That injury ruled out the Dutch skipper for 12 months and has meant that Frank de Boer has had to look to other players to lead the defensive line. Much will potentially fall on the young shoulders of Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt while Memphis Depay will be hoping his excellent form for Lyon will continue this summer.
The big question in the Ukraine side is if Shaktar Donetsk winger Yevhen Konoplyanka will recover from injury in time for the tournament. Konoplyanka has been out with a muscle injury since late March and although he’s been included in the preliminary squad Ukraine boss Andriy Shevchenko will want to make sure that he’s fully fit before naming him in the final squad.
Game Prediction
As one would expect, the Netherlands are hot favourites for this game with the bookies in the pre-match betting. With this in mind it might be better to look at goals for a value bet, especially with neither side coming into the game with a particularly tight defence. The Dutch have kept clean sheets in their last two competitive games (albeit against Latvia and Gibraltar), and for that reason we think it’s best to look at betting tips for the over/under line rather than both teams to score.
