After their win over Belarus, Netherlands now face Germany in their second European Championship qualifier. Kick-off in Amsterdam is 7.45pm on Sunday.

Ronald Koeman’s side made a perfect start to the qualifiers on Thursday with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Belarus. However, they will face a much tougher test on Sunday when Germany return to Amsterdam looking for revenge.

In October, Netherlands humiliated their rivals in a 3-0 victory during the Nations League campaign which also saw Oranje snatch a 2-2 draw in Germany. Netherlands finished top of the group while Germany were relegated.

Netherlands go into the game as favourites and Ronald Koeman has told the press he believes this is dangerous for his side, “That is dangerous for us. It is thought that we will win very easily, but this may not be the best time to face Germany.

“But if you put the teams side by side, you will see that everything is a little clearer with us. We radiate certainty.

We have to realize that we have to be very good to beat Germany, it remains an opponent with very good players. ”

There is plenty of pressure on German boss Joachim Löw’s shoulders after the poor World Cup performance and the Nations League relegation.

He has also come under criticism for dropping the experienced trio Mats Hummels, Thomas Muller and Jerome Boateng as Low looks to begin a new generation of the national team.

Koeman sees parallels to the job he had when he took charge of Netherlands last year, “There are parallels with my beginnings a year ago. They are changing and have tried out different systems. They are busy developing young players, but have also passed players who are still playing at the highest level. But that is their problem, not my problem.”

A 1-1 draw against Serbia in midweek did little to appease Germany’s fans and a loss in Netherlands would increase calls for Low’s sacking.

Team News

Atalanta right-back Hans Hateboer was called into the squad to replace the injured Kenny Tete. However, Koeman is set to name the same eleven that won against Belarus with Denzel Dumfries fit to start.

Probable Netherlands XI: Cillessen, Dumfries, Blind, Van Dijk, De Ligt, F.De Jong, De Roon, Wijnaldum, Babel, Bergwijn, Memphis

Low has confirmed that Manuel Neuer and Toni Kroos will start the game, while Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry are fit to start. They will be without Lukas Klostermann through injury.

Possible Germany XI: Neuer; Kehrer, Rudiger, Sule, Schulz; Kimmich, Kroos; Gnabry, Reus, Sane; Werner

Odds

Due to the victory in the UEFA Nations League, Netherlands go into the game as slight favourites at 7/5. Germany are 17/10 while a draw is 13/5.

Previous Meetings

In October, Netherlands beat Germany 3-0 thanks to goals from Memphis Depay, Virgil van Dijk and Georginio Wijnaldum. A month later late goals from Quincy Promes and van Dijk earned Oranje a 2-2 draw in Gelsenkirchen.

Germany still hold the overall advantage over Netherlands having won 15 out of 42 matches compared to Oranje’s 11.

However, Germany’s last win in the Netherlands was back in 1996.

Johan Cruijff tribute

Sunday is exactly three years to the day that Johan Cruijff passed away and there will be a tribute to the Netherlands legend before the clash with Germany. Images of Cruijff’s career will be shown in the stadium before the game kicks off.

Can Netherlands beat Germany again?

All the pressure going into the game is on the German national team with their under-fire coach and they will be determined to get a result in Amsterdam.

Netherlands let Belarus create chances on Thursday which weren’t taken and need to be more defensively secure on Sunday. If Dumfries and Blind can keep Sane and Reus quiet then Netherlands definitely has a chance of another success against their old rival.

A draw would not be a terrible result for Netherlands either with easier matches to come later in the year.

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