Euro 2020 qualifiers: Holland v N Ireland betting preview, free tip & TV details

Where to watch

Sky Sports Main Event, 7.45pm Thursday

Best bet

Holland to win to nil
2pts 8-11 BoyleSports

Team news

Holland
Davy Propper and Jeroen Zoet have withdrawn from the squad due to injuries.

Northern Ireland
Jamal Lewis sustained a knee injury during Norwich's 5-1 loss to Aston Villa on Saturday. Conor Washington (hamstring) is ruled out.

Match preview

Holland surprisingly failed to secure a place at either Euro 2016 or the 2018 World Cup but they can take a giant step towards qualifying for next summer's European Championships by defeating Northern Ireland in Rotterdam.

Achieving a top-two finish in Group C always looked a tall order for Northern Ireland although hopes were raised after they took maximum points from matches against Belarus and Estonia.

At the halfway point, Michael O'Neill's men topped the section but they suffered a first setback last month when losing 2-0 to Germany in Belfast.

Northern Ireland surprised the Germans by playing enterprising offensive football and were worthy of the 0-0 half-time scoreline.

However, they ran out of steam after the break and had to rely on heroics from goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell to keep the scoreline respectable.

A more cautious style is likely to be deployed against the Dutch with O'Neill relying on counter-attacks and set-pieces to unsettle opponents who have far greater technical ability.

Premier League centre-backs Craig Cathcart and Jonny Evans will be tasked with soaking up waves of Dutch attacks but first-choice left-back Jamal Lewis misses out with a knee injury.

Losing Lewis, who was outstanding against Germany, is a massive blow as his likely replacement Shane Ferguson has been short of playing time at Millwall, making just three starts in the Sky Bet Championship this season.

O'Neill will also have to make an enforced change up front as Conor Washington has been ruled out with a hamstring problem.

While Northern Ireland will be slightly understrength, the Dutch have the luxury of being able to field the same 11 who started last month's impressive 4-2 victory away to Germany.

There was nothing fortunate about the Oranje's success against the Germans after a performance that highlighted their counter-attacking prowess.

Ronald Koeman's side are not the finished article but, given the stunning progress made over the last 12 months, it would not be a surprise to see them contend next summer.

Getting to the finals is the first step and Koeman is looking for defensive improvement from a side who have kept just one clean sheet in their last five matches.

The centre-back partnership between Matthijs de Ligt and Virgil van Dijk is a work in progress but clearly has the potential to be one of the strongest in world football.

The duo are immensely powerful in the air and their heading ability should neutralise Northern Ireland's threat from corners and free-kicks.

Offensively, Holland are faced with a very different challenge to last month's assignment against Germany in Hamburg because Northern Ireland will set up as compact as possible with 11 players frequently behind the ball.

Patience may be required but the Dutch attack, featuring pacy strikers Memphis Depay and Ryan Babel, should break through in the end and there may be no way back for the visitors, who could fail to notch for the eighth time in ten away games.