NETHERLANDS head into their World Cup qualifier with Latvia on Friday night knowing that another three points will keep them in charge of Group G.
Back under the stewardship of Louis Van Gaal, the experienced Dutchman began his third stint as national boss with a 1-1 draw in Norway last month
The Oranje followed up on that point with a pair of comprehensive home wins, making light work of Montenegro in a 4-0 romp before dishing out a 6-1 trouncing to Turkey.
Those back-to-back triumphs have put the Dutch in the Group G driving seat and they will look to take another stride towards securing Qatar 2022 qualification when they roll into Riga on Friday night.
The Latvians have shown some signs of improvement in recent years, most notably when Dainis Kazakevičs men earned a memorable 3-3 draw in Istanbul on matchday three.
In fact, Latvia banked four points during the last round of international games, but a visit from a rejuvenated Netherlands side will represent a serious upgrade on recent challenges.
Outright Betting
Latvia have lost each of their last four matches against Netherlands and the bookies odds suggest that trend will continue, with a home win chalked up at a chunky 30/1 (SBK) while the draw is an unfancied 12/1 (SBK) with the same firm.
Netherlands are strongly fancied to make it three Group G wins on the spin, with another Orange success odds-on at 1/11 with SBK.
Betting Angles
This fixture feels like a bit of an international mismatch and it's therefore a case of having to get creative to eke out a decent price on a Netherlands win.
I'll therefore head to the Bet Builder market and combine over one Netherlands goal and under one Latvia goal, a nice looking 5/6 shot with Bet 365.
The Dutch appear to have been revived by Louis Van Gaal and they demonstrated their marked improvement during last month's international triple header by scoring no fewer than 11 goals across their three fixtures.
What's more, Netherlands have scored two or more goals in 10 of their last 12 competitive contests and that does not bode well for a leaky Latvia backline that has been breached by internationals lesser lights Gibraltar and Malta over the last 12 months.
At the other end of the park, the Latvians don't possess much of an attacking punch and their chances of landing a blow are diminished given that the Oranje's defence has been bolstered by the return of Virgil Van Dijk
With all things considered, the 5/6 (Bet 365) about over one Netherlands goal and under one Latvia goal looks like a nice angle of attack on Friday night.
I'll also dip into the first goalscorer market where Netherlands forward Memphis Depay has been boosted to 3/1 (William Hill) to open the scoring at Daugava Stadium.
Dutch talisman Depay has scored five goals in his two appearances for his country and he is also on penalties which is always an added incentive when delving into this market.
This World Cup match between Latvia and Netherlands will be played on Oct 8, 2021 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Latvia vs Netherlands prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
