International
2009-03-28 - Netherlands vs Scotland
A Sports Betting Pick by Gooner
Football: International, FIFA World Cup 2010
European (UEFA) Qualifiers
Saturday 28th March 2009 - Kickoff 19:45
Netherlands (Group 9 - 1st 3-0-0 5:1)
The Oranje crush have started the World Cup qualifiers well with three straight wins, two of them away from home were they've beaten FYR Macedonia 2-1 and Norway 1-0.
The only home game played so far saw the Dutch side cruise to a regulation 2-0 win over Iceland in Rotterdam.
PREVIOUS GAMES
10/09/08 W 2-1 A v FYR Macedonia
11/10/08 W 2-0 H v Iceland
15/10/08 W 1-0 A v Norway
Scotland (Group 9 - 2nd 1-1-1 2:2)
Scotland's manager George Burley must be wondering what he's done to deserve this, as he takes his team to the Amsterdam ArenA to face the toughest match in the group with a squad severly reduced by injuries.
Scotland have now had five players pull out of the match against the Dutch since the start of the week, with Celtic captain Stephen McManus joining Celtic team-mate Paul Hartley, Rangers defenders David Weir and Kirk Broadfoot, and Derby County midfielder Kris Commons on the sidelines.
There was good news, however, concerning the condition of captain Barry Ferguson, who has been given the green light to play in Amsterdam after recovering sufficiently from bruised ribs.
Scotland have four points in the group, having faced the same teams that the Dutch have played.
PREVIOUS GAMES
06/09/08 L 0-1 A v FYR Macedonia
10/09/08 W 2-1 A v Iceland
11/10/08 D 0-0 H v Norway
Head to Head
The Amsterdam Arena is the venue where Scotland faced the Netherlands in the second leg of a European Championship play-off six years ago. The Dutch side won 6-0.
Scotland had won the first leg 1-0 at Hampden Park, although the Dutch had made the lions share of the play and most of the chances in both matches.
The Betting Verdict
The Dutch side tend to under achieve a little bit in qualification, but the home form is always solid, and the Netherland have an 11-2-0 record in their last 13 home competitive games since 2004.
Scotland don't travel too well, and are 5-1-6 over the same period, but the Scots have managed to beat France to underline that the fighting spirit is still there.
However, I feel that Scotland needed a full strength side to repeat that feat, and with so many injuries the best than can be hoped for is a battling draw.
And in the end I think that the Dutch will have too much.
The Pick :
Netherlands 2-0 Scotland
BEST BETTING TIP :
I'll take NETHERLANDS to win.
