Action begins in Group G of the European World Cup qualifiers with Turkey hosting the Netherlands at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium. Both teams will fancy their chances of progressing from the group and will hope to make a positive start to their campaign.
Turkey are coming off a 2-0 defeat in Hungary in a UEFA Nations League fixture back in November. They looked dangerous in spells but failed to find the cutting edge in attack.
The result means the Turks have been relegated in the competition and they will be hoping for a much better campaign in the World Cup qualifiers. Their form has not been great lately and they head into Wednesday’s match with one win in their last eight matches.
Senol Gunes' men will be banking on their home form as they are unbeaten in their last three matches on their own turf. However, two of those matches have ended in stalemates, playing out a 2-2 draw with Serbia while they were also held 3-3 by Croatia.
Netherlands were victorious in their last outing as they triumphed 2-1 in Poland in the UEFA Nations League. They fought back from a goal down with Memphis Depay getting the equaliser from the spot while Georginio Wijnaldum struck the winner.
Frank De Boer's men have looked solid in their recent outings and head to Turkey unbeaten in their last five matches. They are also unbeaten in seven away matches, although three of the last four have ended in draws.
The Dutch team boast plenty of quality in attack and have scored in each of their last four matches. Their major problem is a leaky defence as they have kept no clean sheets in that run.
How the bookies view it
The Netherlands have been installed as favourites among the bookies and are valued at 3/4 by Unibet to triumph in Turkey. A win for the Turks is set at odds of 7/2 by Paddy Power, while William Hill is offering 3/1 for a draw.
Both teams are likely to cancel each other out for a draw
Head to head
Netherlands have the upper hand in this fixture with five wins from 10 previous matches. Turkey have claimed two wins while there have been three draws between both teams.
Turkey ran out 3-0 winners the last time they faced Netherlands during a European Championship qualifier in 2015.
Players to watch
Turkey have some big names in defence including Juventus’ Merih Demirel, Sassuolo’s Kaan Ayhan, and Liverpool’s Ozan Kabak. They will be tasked with shutting out the Dutch attack and are priced at 9/2 by William Hill to keep a clean sheet.
Even in the absence of Virgil Van Dijk, the Netherlands still have some quality at the back with Matthijs de Ligt and Daley Blind. Both men can help the Dutch keep a rare clean sheet on their way to victory. A win to nil could be considered at 21/20 with Paddy Power.
Anything else catch the eye?
With Wednesday’s match likely to be an open encounter, the goals market is likely to offer some rewards. Over 3.5 goals is valued at 19/10 by BoyleSport, Betfred is offering 4/5 for over 2.5 goals while both teams to score is set at odds of 6/7 by the Sport Nation.
Both teams often score much of their goals after the break and the second half could be backed as the highest scoring half at 5/4 with Sport Nation. You could also back both teams to score in the second half at 41/20 with Unibet.
This European match between Turkey and Netherlands will be played on Mar 24, 2021 and kick off at 17:00. Check below for our tipsters best Turkey vs Netherlands prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
