Preview: Netherlands vs. Wales - prediction, team news, lineups

Netherlands will be bidding to cement their spot at the top of Group 4 of League A in the UEFA Nations League when they welcome Wales to Rotterdam on Tuesday night.

Louis van Gaal's side are currently at the head of the section, collecting seven points from their three matches, while Wales are bottom, having only picked up one point from their opening three games.

Match preview

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Netherlands opened their 2022-23 UEFA Nations League campaign with a 4-1 win over Belgium on June 3 before making it back-to-back successes by recording a 2-1 victory over Wales five days later.

Holland were prevented from making it three straight wins by Poland on Saturday night, but Van Gaal's side had to come from two goals behind to claim a point in Rotterdam, with Davy Klaassen and Denzel Dumfries on the scoresheet early in the second half of the contest.

The hosts will be bidding to move onto 10 points on Tuesday night ahead of their final two fixtures in the section against Poland and Belgium at the end of September.

In the 2020-21 UEFA Nations League, Netherlands were second behind Italy in Group 1 of League A, with the European champions advancing to the semi-finals of the competition.

Van Gaal's side finished second at the 2010 World Cup before claiming third in 2014, but they failed to qualify for the 2018 competition, losing three of their 10 qualification fixtures; Holland will be present at Qatar 2022, and there have been plenty of positive signs in the UEFA Nations League thus far.

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Wales, meanwhile, managed to reach their first World Cup since 1958 by beating Ukraine 1-0 in their playoff last Sunday, with Gareth Bale's deflected free kick proving to be the difference between the two sides.

The Dragons will take on the United States, Iran and England in the group stage of the 2022 competition, but they have found it difficult to impress in the UEFA Nations League thus far.

Rob Page's side opened their 2022-23 campaign with a 2-1 loss in Poland on June 1 before going down 2-1 at home to Netherlands seven days later.

The Dragons did manage to claim a point on Saturday evening, though, with Brennan Johnson coming off the bench to register in the 86th minute after Youri Tielemans had sent the visitors ahead in Cardiff.

Wales finished top of Group 4 of League B in their last UEFA Nations League campaign, collecting 16 points from their six matches against Finland, Republic of Ireland and Bulgaria, which saw them earn promotion.

Team News

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Netherlands boss Van Gaal is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack on Tuesday evening, with the bulk of the players that started against Poland set to keep their spots.

There could be a change at the back, though, with Matthijs de Ligt potentially coming in for Nathan Ake, while Jasper Cillessen should shake off a knock to feature between the sticks.

Memphis Depay missed a late penalty against Poland but will again play in a front two, and there could be a starting role for Cody Gakpo, with Steven Bergwijn potentially dropping to the bench.

As for Wales, Johnson's goal off the bench against Belgium will have put him firmly in Page's thinking, but the Nottingham Forest forward is again likely to be named among the substitutes.

Joe Allen had to be substituted in the first half of the clash with the Red Devils and will likely be replaced by Aaron Ramsey in the middle of the park.

Rhys Norrington-Davies and Rubin Colwill are among the options for change, but there are unlikely to be many alterations from the side that took to the field for the first whistle against Roberto Martinez's team on Saturday.

Netherlands possible starting lineup:

Cillessen; Timber, De Vrij, De Ligt; Dumfries, Berghuis, Klaassen, F de Jong, Blind; Gakpo, Memphis

Wales possible starting lineup:

Hennessey; Mepham, Rodon, Davies; Ampadu; Roberts, Ramsey, Wilson, N Williams; James, Bale

We say: Netherlands 2-1 Wales

Wales are more than capable of causing problems for the Netherlands, and we are expecting a tight match on Tuesday night. Holland will be determined to bounce back from what was a disappointing performance against Poland, though, and we believe that Van Gaal's side will again record a 2-1 win over Wales.

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