Euro 2016 Qualifiers: Netherlands vs Turkey preview

March 27, 2015
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Netherlands vs TurkeyAfter the two sides experienced plenty of problems at the start of the qualifying campaign, the match at Amsterdam ArenA will be extremely important for both Netherlands and Turkey.

And even if both managers have some important missings to contend with, there are no doubts we will see a thoroughly exciting encounter.

Netherlands surprised everyone with some strong performances at the 2014 World Cup that eventually earned them a third-place finish, but everything changed when Louis van Gaal quit the post.

Guus Hiddink was elected as the man to replace the now Manchester United boss, but he has largely struggled to get the maximum out of his team.

While they also suffered friendly defeats to Italy and Mexico, Oranje were beaten by both Czech Republic and Iceland on the road in the Euro 2016 qualifiers, meaning they are now six points off the top of the standings.

This is enough to suggest that the Turkey match is a must-win game for the Netherlands, who are 1.57 (4/7) to claim maximum points.

Guus Hiddink will have to make do without Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben and Ron Vlaar, while Rafa van der Vaart, Leroy Fer and Jeremain Lens have been overlooked.

As the most experienced players in the squad, the likes of Wesley Sneijder and Klaas Jan Huntelaar will be expected to lead their teammates to glory.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Cillessen – Janmaat, de Vrij, Martins Indi, Willems – Clasie, Blind, Sneijder – Depay, Huntelaar, Afellay.

While they impressed in international friendlies in the aftermath of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, Turkey have had another disappointing start to a qualifying campaign.

Fatih Terim’s side began the competition with back to back losses to Iceland and Czech Republic, before showing some improvement to share spoils with Latvia and defeat Kazakhstan.

However, Turkey will need to continue playing at a very high level if they want to stand any chance of reaching the tournament finals, as they currently sit five points behind second-placed Iceland.

But, having showed a lot of promise on their previous visit to Amsterdam ArenA, they are now 7.00 (6/1) to emerge victorious.

Turkey will be without key midfielder Arda Turan, who is out through suspension, while important defender Omer Toprak has rejected a call-up.

Hakan Calhanoglu returns to the side, but the likes of Volkan Demirel and Egemen Korkmaz have been left out, meaning the back line will be severely weakened.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Volkan Babacan – Gonul, Aziz, Balta, Erkin – Topal, Belezoglu – Richards, Calhanoglu, Tore – Yilmaz.

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