Greece - Netherlands predictions and free betting tips [16/10/2023]

Today as part of the Euro 2024 qualifiers, the Greek national team will meet the Dutch national team. The Dutchmen are trailing their hosts by three points, therefore Gus Poyet's team can secure the final second place with a victory in Athens.

Predicted lineups

Greece: Vlachodimos; Rota, Retsos, Mavropanos, Tsimikas; Bakasetas, Kourbelis, Mantalos; Masouras, Giakoumakis, Pelkas.
Netherlands: Verbruggen; Geertruida , Van Dijk, Ake; Dumfries, Reijnders, Veerman, Hartman; Simons, Malen, Bergwij .

Stadium

The match will take place in Athens at the OPAP Arena.

Greece

Greece are still vying for a place in a major tournament for the first time since the 2014 World Cup. Moreover, after Friday's trip to Ireland, the Whites lead the second place in the standings, which gives a ticket to Germany next summer. The Greeks started their group stage campaign with a victory over Ireland, but then lost to France (1:0) in June and to the Netherlands (3:0) in September. Despite these two losses, last month the Southerners thrashed Gibraltar 5:0, and on the past Friday they dealt with the Irish in Dublin – 0:2. In the 20th minute, Kostas Tsimikas, off a pass from Giorgios Giakoumakis, struck a powerful blow past the stunned Gavin Bazunu, and in the closing seconds of the first half, Dimitrios Pelkas accurately delivered a set-piece onto the head of Giorgios Masouras, who doubled the Greek lead. 

Next month, the hosts will need to pick up points on Monday as they host the group's leaders - France. Greece's squad includes well-known goalkeeper Vlachodimos (Nottingham Forest), defenders Tzavellas (Atromitos), Tsimikas (Liverpool) and Chatzidiakos (Cagliari), Giannoulis (Norwich) and Mavropanos (West Ham), as well as midfielders Bakasetas (Trabzonspor), Mantalos (AEK Athens), Bouzalakis (Hertha Berlin) and Kourbelis (Trabzonspor). Up front, we are likely to see Masouras (Olympiacos, 8 goals in 35 matches) and Pavlidis (AZ Alkmaar, 33 matches, 6 goals) start. Limnios (Cologne) and Duvikas (Celta Vigo) were not called up to the national team in October, despite having previously played for the national team.

Netherlands

The Netherlands, in turn, have not yet guaranteed their place at Euro 2024, despite reaching the quarter-finals of the recent World Cup, where they were knocked out on penalties by Argentina. The "Tulips" are third in Group B, with three points less than their upcoming opponents (but have played one match less). Therefore, the clash with the French on Friday had decisive importance for Ronald Koeman's charges, but they failed to please the Orange fans. Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring with an assist from Jonathan Ikone just seven minutes after kick-off, and in the second half, he struck a thumping shot into the top corner from well outside the box. Cyril Hartman's debut for the national team, beating Mike Maignan, was just a spoonful of honey in a barrel of tar for the Dutch. 

As with Greece, the Netherlands still have all the chances to succeed in the Nations League if they do not make the two strongest according to the qualification. Among the missing call-ups for the visitors are Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona, 54 matches), Memphis Depay (Atletico, the second best scorer in national team history with 44 goals), Timber (Arsenal, 15 matches), Cody Gakpo (8 goals in 19 matches), Noah Lang (PSV), Matthijs de Ligt, Sven Botman and goalkeepers Bijlow (Feyenoord) and Flekken (Brentford). Finally, the young Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool), Zirkzee, forward Janssen (Antwerp, 7 goals) and experienced Wijnaldum (Saudi Arabian League) were not called up by Koeman. In the starting lineup, we will definitely see Xavi Simons (RB Leipzig), captain Van Dijk (Liverpool), Ake (Manchester City), experienced Blind (Girona), right-back Dumfries (Inter, 6 goals) and centre-forward Weghorst (Hoffenheim, 7 goals).

Head-to-head

Last month, the Netherlands beat Greece 3:0, which was their eighth victory in their last ten matches against the Ellines. The Whites' only triumph over the 2010 World Cup finalists came in a friendly match in 2016.

Prediction for the match Greece - Netherlands

A month ago, the Dutch thrashed Greece on their home turf, but in Athens, Poyet's charges will need to do everything possible to at least not concede the "Tulips". The Greeks are having a more than worthy current qualifying campaign, but the recent World Cup quarter-finalists boast a more status-laden squad. Missing out on yet another major tournament would be simply unacceptable for the visitors, so I'm betting on their victory.

Prediction for the Total

The Greeks have conceded just 5 goals in six rounds, and the Dutch have scored only 9 in five matches. Considering the significance of the game from a tournament standpoint, we should not expect an open game and a plethora of goals - we bet on the total under 2.5.