Senegal and Netherlands begin their Qatar 2022 World Cup campaign with a Group A clash on Monday. The West Africans suffered a major injury blow on the eve of the competition and could find things difficult against the Dutch, who are expected to win.
Senegal have been on the rise in recent times and are the reigning African champions. They are considered Africa’s big hope in Qatar and having only just missed out on the knockout phase in 2018, will be keen to set things right this time around.
The Teranga Lions have shown some good form lately and head into their opening fixture with just one defeat in their last seven matches. Aliou Cisse’s men were held to a 1-1 draw by Iran in a friendly back in September.
While Senegal have shown some good form, they are not known for being particularly prolific in attack. That particular problem is likely to be made worse by the absence of Sadio Mane, who has been ruled out of the entire tournament with a leg injury.
Tagged as perennial underachievers, Netherlands to Qatar looking to finally make their mark on the world stage. Manager Louis Van Gaal led the team to a third place finish in Brazil 2014 and will be keen to go one better this time around.
Netherlands head into Monday’s match in good form and are on a 15 match unbeaten run across all competitions. They had no friendly in the build up to the tournament, so their last fixture was a 1-0 victory over Belgium in the UNL in September.
While Netherlands are known for attacking football, the win over Belgium highlights an interesting new aspect of their game. They have now kept clean sheets in their last two matches, with a 2-0 victory over Poland preceding the victory over Belgium.
How the bookies view it
Netherlands are considered overwhelming favourites among the bookies with a win priced at 8/13 by William Hill. An unlikely win for Senegal is valued at 5/2 by bet365 while a draw is set at odds of 3/1 by Betfred.
Head to head
This will be the first ever meeting between Senegal and Netherlands.
Players to watch
Netherlands have plenty of quality in attack but Memphis Depay is expected to lead the line on Monday. The Barcelona forward has nine goals in his last 10 international matches and is priced at 7/5 by Paddy Power to claim the win.
The Dutch have also developed a ruthless streak at the back and will be looking to take advantage of Senegal’s weakened attack. Virgil Van Dijk is likely to partner Matthijs de Ligt in central defence and can lead the team to a clean sheet at 20/21 with Betfred.
Anything else catch the eye?
Netherlands have won to nil in their last two matches and with Senegal missing a key figure in attack, a repeat could be on the cards at 7/5 with BetVictor. Given the quality in the Dutch attack, a -1 handicap can be considered at 17/10 with Coral.
Netherlands have scored in both halves in two of their last three matches and could be set for a repeat at 15/8 by Betfred.
This World Cup match between Senegal and Netherlands will be played on Nov 21, 2022 and kick off at 16:00. Check below for our tipsters best Senegal vs Netherlands prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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