Netherlands vs. Belgium Betting Tips: Best bets as van Gaal's side look to qualify for the finals in Amsterdam

Ten UEFA Nations League matches take place on Sunday with The Netherlands against Belgium being the pick of the fixtures. We’ve tasked @AnthonyEadson to preview the game and provide us with his best data-driven bets. 

Louis van Gaal’s Netherlands can seal their place in the finals and top Group D by acquiring just a point against Belgium on Sunday. The Oranje are now unbeaten in 14 games since van Gaal took over for his third spell as Netherlands head coach. Their latest triumph came on Thursday evening with a comfortable 2-0 win away in Poland thanks to goals from Cody Gakpo and Steven Bergwijn. That victory gives them a total of 13 points from their five matches this campaign and they will be confident of picking up at least a point against Belgium, who they turned over 4-1 at the start of June.

That defeat for Belgium means they will have to score four goals in Amsterdam due to head-to-head rules in order to progress to the finals. Belgium have taken 10 points so far in this renewal of the Nations League but that defeat to the Netherlands looks to be a costly one. 

For the hosts, Memphis Depay will most likely miss the game after being taken off with a muscle injury against Poland. Teun Koopmeiners is another who remains a doubt, while Marten de Roon and Steven Berghuis are expected to start in midfield. Romelu Lukaku is out injured and will not feature, meaning Michy Batshuayi may continue in attack.

First up, I’m backing both teams to score and Over 2.5 goals in the match, which is available at even money with bet365 via their Bet Builder feature. Looking back at previous meetings between these two sides, both teams to score has landed in seven of the last eight matches on a run that stretches back to 1999 when the pair played out a 5-5 draw which included a brace from Edgar Davids and a hat-trick from Patrick Kluivert. BTTS has also landed in 80% of both sides' Nations League matches so far in this tournament and it would be no surprise to see a high goal count again this time round.

We’ll also be including Over 2.5 goals as we feel this game has the potential to descend into goalscoring chaos. Belgium need to score at least four goals in order to qualify for the finals which could well open things up considerably. 4-1 was the scoreline when these two met back in June and we’d certainly welcome a similar outcome on Sunday to land our main play for the evening. 

The second selection I’ve sided with in Amsterdam is for Cody Gakpo to find the net anytime in the match. Bet365 go 11/4 on the 23-year-old finding the net against Belgium, although it may be worth shopping around closer to kick-off for the best price as more bookmakers open their markets.

The key angle here is that with Memphis Depay out injured, Cody Gakpo could well be pushed further forward into a strikers role rather than a number ten behind the front two. The PSV Eindhoven attacker has only started five matches for his national side but has scored in three of those. That includes his last two matches, with goals against Wales, and most recently, Poland. With confidence high, and goals expected on Sunday 11/4 looks a generous price for him to get on the scoresheet once again.