After a disappointing loss against Turkey in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, the Netherlands look to get back on track against Latvia at the Johan Cruijff Stadium on Saturday.
The Dutch lost 4-2 thanks to a hat-trick from Burak Yilmaz at the Ataturk Stadium on Tuesday. Before Davy Klassen and Luuk de Jong scored in the space of a minute, Yilmaz had scored twice in addition to a Hakan Calhanoglu goal.
That quick succession of two goals gave the Dutch hope of being able to turn it around. However, Yilmaz completed his hat-trick and condemned Frank de Boer's side to a loss to start their campaign off.
Latvia began their campaign with a loss as well, going down 2-1 to Montenegro at home.
The Latvians took the lead in that game through Janis Ikaunieks, but Stevan Jovetic's brace gave Montenegro an excellent comeback victory.
With Norway also in Group G along with these two teams, the Dutch know they cannot afford slip-ups against the so-called lesser teams in the group. That is why a win in this game is paramount for the Netherlands.
Netherlands vs Latvia Head-to-Head
In three previous games between the two nations, Latvia have never managed to get a result, with the Netherlands having won all three.
Netherlands vs Latvia Team News
Netherlands
Out of the players that were named in the squad for this set of international fixtures, Jasper Cillessen is likely to be the only absentee for the Dutch. The goalkeeper injured himself during the warm-up before the game against Turkey.
Injured: Jasper Cillessen
Suspended: None
Latvia
Latvia defender Elvis Stuglis withdrew from the squad before the last game against Montenegro. Vladislavs Gutkovskis and Kaspars Dubra are injured and will miss this game.
Injured: Elvis Stuglis, Kaspars Dubra, Vladislavs Gutkovskis
Suspended: None
Netherlands vs Latvia Predicted XIs
Netherlands Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Jasper Cillessen; Kenny Tete, Matthijs de Ligt, Daley Blind, Owen Wijndal; Georginio Wijnaldum, Frenkie de Jong; Steven Bergwijn, Donny van de Beek, Memphis Depay; Luuk de Jong
Latvia Predicted XI (4-4-2): Pavels Steinbors; Roberts Savalnieks, Marcis Oss, Vitalijs Maksimenko, Raivis Jurkovskis; Alvis Jaunzems, Arturs Zjuzins, Kristers Tobers, Andrejs Ciganiks; Janis Ikaunieks, Roberts Uldrikis
Netherlands vs Latvia Prediction
We are predicting that the Dutch will win this game and bounce back from the humbling they received against Turkey.
Prediction: Netherlands 3-0 Latvia