Netherlands v Austria Bet Builder: Open game expected in Amsterdam

Netherlands take on Austria at the Amsterdam ArenA on Thursday in a 8pm kick-off.

Both nations won exciting opening matches on Sunday, so can play with reduced pressure here.

Netherlands v Austria Builder Get £20 Risk with code YSKAKQ

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.

I can’t see Oranje losing, then, so will back them on the Double Chance alongside Over 1 Goal for Both Teams Combined as I expect an open game.

Netherlands have had 5+ corners in each of their 12 matches since the resumption of football last year, meanwhile, with Austria conceding 4+ to England, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Scotland and Norway in their last seven matches.

As we saw in that match against England, Austria are certainly not afraid to dish out a few meaty tackles, with Israeli referee Orel Grinfeld showing each team one or more card in 18 of his last 20 European matches. I’ll back 4+ Netherlands corners and 1+ Austria card for an odds-against Bet Builder, then:

If you’re looking for a bigger price, changing the double chance and goals element to Netherlands to win & BTTS provides a nice 4/1 shot:

In terms of player props, Wijnaldum and Marcel Sabitzer each to have Over 1.5 Shots in the match at 11/5 (bet365) catches my eye.

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.

In terms of player cards, Wout Weghorst looks quite big at 9/2 (Betfair) after making four fouls against Ukraine.

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.

Grinfeld is unlikely to take too kindly if his persistent fouling continues against Austria, so 20/1 (Betfair) for Weghorst to score and be carded looks tempting.

Stefan Lainer and Xaver Schlager also both look too big at 5/1 and 6/1 respectively.

Selections:

Netherlands to win or draw, Over 1 Goals for Both Teams Combined, Over 3 Corners for Netherlands & Over 0 Cards for Austria @ 21/20 (bet365)

Georginio Wijnaldum & Marcel Sabitzer Over 1.5 Shots each @ 21/10 (bet365)

Netherlands to win, BTTS, Over 3 Corners for Netherlands & Over 0 Cards for Austria @ 4/1 (bet365)