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The Netherlands and Germany have new managers as they play their first Nations League game at the Johan Cruijff Arena Thursday night.
The hosts are under the management of Spanish legend Xavi, while the visitors have fellow countryman Jurgen Klopp in charge.
Both nations come into this off the back of disappointing World Cups, where they were knocked out in the round of 32, and will also face Greece and Serbia in Group A.
Read our prediction, preview and betting tips for the game below, and make sure to check out our today's betting tips page for more of our expert predictions.
Netherlands vs. Germany key stats
- Netherlands have lost just once in 16 home games in all competitions (W11, D4).
- Germany have lost just once in nine away matches against European opposition (W6, D2).
- Germany have lost just once in seven H2Hs across all competitions (W3, D3).
Netherlands vs. Germany preview: New managers to start with stalemate?
Netherlands vs Germany — Tale of the Tape
| Netherlands | vs | Germany |
|---|---|---|
| 3rd | Position | 1st |
| 0 | Points | 0 |
| 0 | Goals For | 0 |
| 0 | Goals Against | 0 |
| 0 | Clean Sheets | 0 |
| 3rd (H) | Home / Away Rank | 1st (A) |
After being knocked out by Morocco in the round of 32 in the World Cup, the Netherlands parted ways with Ronald Koeman and replaced him with Xavi.
While he won several honours with Spain as a player including the World Cup and European Championships, this is the first time Xavi has managed at international level.
His most notable success as a manager was winning former club Barcelona the LaLiga title, but the Netherlands have famously never won the World Cup or even a Nations League campaign, despite ranking ninth in the world.
These upcoming matches will give Xavi a taste of his squad ahead of the major tournaments, and he has already made a bold statement in leaving all-time top scorer Memphis Depay out, even though fellow attackers Donyell Malen and Justin Kluivert have pulled out through injury.
Germany had a similarly disappointing World Cup, going out to Paraguay at the same stage despite being heavy favourites.
As such, Julian Nagelsmann has been replaced by the legendary Klopp, who won so many major trophies at club level.
He too is stepping into international management for the first time though, and has unusually named a 43-man squad to be spread across the fixtures.
Brajan Gruda has since withdrawn, but otherwise Klopp has plenty of new and old faces to choose from.
Netherlands vs. Germany form guide & betting tips
| Netherlands | vs | Germany |
|---|---|---|
WDWWL |
Form | WWWLL |
| 13 | Goals For | 13 |
| 6 | Goals Against | 6 |
| Nations League |
Whispers predicts: Netherlands 2-2 Germany
Netherlands are 7/5 (2.40) favourites with bookies, but given Germany's strong H2H record and Klopp's need to get off to a good start, we fancy them to get a result.
The Draw at 14/5 (3.80) particularly appeals, while Over 3.5 goals at 13/10 (2.30) could also come through given both nations' last five games have involved 19 goals each, an average of 3.8 per match.
In terms of potential goalscorers, Netherlands striker Brian Brobbey comes into this off the back of a hat-trick for Sunderland at Manchester City in the Premier League, so Brobbey to score anytime at 2/1 (3.00) is our final pick.
Overall, we are predicting a 2-2 draw, which is available at 11/1 (12.00).
> Over 3.5 goals at 2.30 | Likelihood: Medium
> Brobbey to score anytime at 3.00 | Likelihood: Medium
> Draw at 3.80 | Likelihood: Low