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Relegated Germans Face The Netherlands

If nothing else over the course of the last week in the world of football, at least we’ve been able to see that sometimes, if you put some effort in, international football can be a lot of fun outside of the big tournaments. That’s not a sentiment that many fans will echo but such is the nature of the beautiful game, and such is the nature of the fans that watch it. Regardless of whether or not you agree with our assessment we’re still confident in saying that the Nations League has been more of a fan favourite than anyone could’ve anticipated, and that can only be a good thing as we look ahead to next summer and beyond.

Of course, due to the structure of the divisions we’ve been able to witness a series of different rematches over the course of the last few months, and that pattern will repeat itself tomorrow night when 2014 world champions Germany will go head to head with their old bitter rivals The Netherlands, aka Holland. It’s one of those fixtures that people will come far and wide to watch, mainly because of the history behind it. Even if we didn’t know about the history between them, though, we’re still talking about two nations with exceptional quality littered throughout their respective squads.

We kick off this preview with the Germans who, it’s fair to say have had a pretty rotten time of it as of late. In addition to their disappointing summer they’ve also failed to impress during the Nations League thus far, and that’s not exactly a shocking revelation. There need to be changes made from the top to the very bottom and it’ll be intriguing to see how they orchestrate that, because we all know that they’re used to winning. Now that they aren’t viewed as one of the ‘elite’ members of European football, perhaps a change of pace could be in order.

Speaking of a change of pace, how good have the Netherlands been in the last six months or so? They’ve turned their fortunes around in a manner that very few could’ve predicted or even anticipated, and Ronald Koeman deserves plaudits for that. Sure, he was always viewed as a somewhat risky and unconventional appointment, but that’s the kind of role that he seems to thrive in. It’s obvious to see that he’s getting results and it’s obvious to see that the fans are responding well to it, so long may it continue.

Germany’s last six game stretch has been difficult for them, and that’s not exactly an exaggeration. It kicked off during the aforementioned World Cup where they were attempting to defend their world title, only to fall short with their final group stage game being a shock 2-0 loss at the hands of South Korea. In their first game after the finals they were held 0-0 by France, and while they’ve won 2-1 and 3-0 against Peru and Russia since then, those results have also been sandwiched by 3-0 and 2-1 defeats against the Netherlands and the French.

The Dutch had to sit out on this year’s World Cup due to their many poor performances in qualifying, and in many ways, the atmosphere in Russia didn’t feel right without the 2010 finalists being represented. Their final game before the tournament began was a 1-1 draw against Italy, and they followed that up with a narrow victory over Peru. They went on to lose 2-1 to world champions France but it’s been all sunshine and rainbows since then with a 3-0 win over Germany, a 1-1 draw over Belgium, and a huge 2-0 win over the French as they gained a measure of revenge for their encounter back in September.

As we’ve alluded to Germany and Holland know each other very, very well, to the point where many consider their rivalry to be one of the biggest and best in all of international football. Germany lead the overall head to head standings 15-11 with 15 draws also being thrown in there for good measure, with the first game between the two sides dating all the way back to April 1910. As you well know the Dutch came up trumps in a huge 3-0 demolition of the Germans earlier this year, which should indicate just how far they’ve come in such a short period of time.

Germany have a few things to smile about contrary to popular belief, with Toni Kroos, Marco Reus and Mats Hummels all being tipped to return to the starting line-up in the wake of their win against Russia. Leroy Sane is one man who is being pinpointed as someone who can help lead the Germans towards a more positive future so we can expect to see him start, and we can also expect to see yet another attacking formation and setup from the hosts – which can only be a good thing.

It doesn’t really make much sense at all to change up your system if you’ve just picked up a win over the world champions, which is why we’re expecting to see pretty much the same starting XI (if not one or two changes) from the visitors. There are no fresh injury concerns for them to worry about but it wouldn’t be surprising to see one or two alterations, given that Germany will be well aware of the Netherlands’ style given their recent encounter. Still, if they’re confident enough in what they’re able to produce, then they may as well just go for it.

Germany vs Netherlands Betting Prediction

As we all know these nations faced off just over a month ago, which should raise some questions in regards to how they’ve been able to change their game in that amount of time. The Dutch won’t have too much to alter and will try to play their usual high energy football, whereas the hosts desperately need to mix things up a bit. While the crowd in Gelsenkirchen will undoubtedly be getting behind their side that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to run through the visitors, and in some instances, that can even add more pressure to the situation.

We’re backing Germany to come out like a house on fire, knowing that they face a tall order if they want to register the three points. The Netherlands will be able to combat their fears to the point where they neutralise their attacking threats, just like they did a month ago. Because of their current situation, we don’t think Koeman’s side are going to be pushing all too hard in search of a winner, and as a result, we’re going with a final prediction of 0-0 to round off this phase of the Nations League.