Kick Off: 1945, 25/03/2017
Stadium: Vasil Levski
TV: Sky Sports
Netherlands look set to fight it out with Sweden for second place behind France in Group A and will want to avoid any setbacks when visiting Bulgaria for Saturday’s World Cup qualifier.
The Dutch have only picked up one point from two games against the Swedes and Les Bleus, but they have brushed aside Belarus and Luxembourg in fairly convincing fashion.
The hosts have enough proven performers to give it a go, but 27/10 for the visitors to prevail and both teams to score stands out to us from the Bulgaria vs Netherlands odds.
A Look At Bulgaria’s Betting Odds
It is a long time since Hristo Stoichkov helped Bulgaria to reach the semi-finals of the 1994 World Cup in the USA and they have not qualified for the finals of this competition since that so-called Golden Generation bowed out tamely at the group stage four years later.
Narrow wins over Luxembourg and Belarus mean that the Lions still have a slim chance of making it to Russia next year, but a 4-1 loss in France and a 3-0 defeat in Sweden would appear to have exposed their limitations.
Experienced Spartak Moscow forward Ivelin Popov does give the home side a goal threat, though, so Evens for both teams to score in Sofia could well be worth support.
A Look At Netherlands’ Betting Odds
Netherlands have finished second and third in the last couple of World Cup tournaments, but they are under pressure to perform in this tricky pool after failing to even qualify for Euro 2016.
After a solid start saw them draw 1-1 in Sweden and then beat Belarus 4-1 in Rotterdam, the alarm bells were ringing again when a solitary Paul Pogba strike proved enough for France to see off the Dutch in Amsterdam last October.
The nerves were jangling once more when Arjen Robben’s opener was cancelled out just before half-time in Luxembourg, but Manchester United misfit Memphis Depay came to the rescue with a double after the break.
The ageing Arjen Robben aside, this Holland team is still rated a work in progress, but they should still be strong enough to edge out Bulgaria, with 7/2 available for a scoreline of 2-1, 3-1 or 4-1.
Additional stats
Last result:
BULGARIA 1-0 Belarus – Ivelin Popov
Luxembourg 1-3 NETHERLANDS – Arjen Robben, Memphis Depay (2)
Head-to-head: Netherlands 1-2 Bulgaria, Netherlands 2-0 Bulgaria, Bulgaria 0-0 Netherlands, Netherlands 1-2 Bulgaria, Netherlands 1-0 Bulgaria
