Netherlands v Scotland: Back Clarke's men to strike in Amsterdam

• Scotland in poor form, but have scored against big hitters

• Dutch outclassed by France in qualifiers

• BTTS good value at 2.166/5

• Memphis looked sharp as Atletico beat Inter in UCL

Netherlands v Scotland
Friday 22 March, 19:45
Live on Viaplay Sports 1

Koeman frustrated by strikers' injuries

Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman admits time is running out for players to stake their claim for a place in his squad for Euro 2024, and he has been shorn of the chance to take a closer look at young strikers Brian Brobbey and Joshua Zirkzee in this international break.

Ajax striker Brobbey has fully bounced back after his disastrous spell in Germany with RB Leipzig, while former Bayern striker Zirkzee has been a revelation for Bologna, firing them into contention for a shock Champions League spot. However, both have had to pull out with injury.

One player that is fit and who will be thoroughly assessed is former Liverpool midfielder Gini Wijnaldum. He's never been quite the same player since leaving Anfield, and is now playing for Steven Gerrard at struggling Saudi side Al-Ettifaq. Koeman insists the door isn't closed for Wijnaldum, but he must perform well against Scotland and Germany.

The Dutch did enough to secure a place at this summer's finals, but they weren't entirely convincing. A last-gasp penalty from Virgil van Dijk secured a vital 1-0 win at closest challengers Greece, and that was realistically the moment that secured qualification.

The Oranje lost home and away to group winners France in qualifying, which shows the work that still needs to be done to get to that level. It's no surprise that the Netherlands are trading at 20.019/1 on the Betfair Exchange to win Euro 2024.

However, it's certainly not all doom and gloom. Van Dijk is having an outstanding season for Liverpool, Nathan Ake and Micky van de Ven are also excellent centre-back options. Inter's Denzel Dumfries is one of the most effective attacking wing-backs in Europe, while Xavi Simons has excelled at RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga.

Further forward, speedy forward Donyell Malen is in the midst of a purple patch at Borussia Dortmund, while Memphis just produced a vital cameo for Atletico Madrid against Inter in the Champions League. This isn't a squad that lacks quality, but perhaps it does lack the depth to win the tournament.

Highly respected Clarke has worked wonders

It was good enough ending Scotland's long wait for an appearance at a major finals, but now manager Steve Clarke has delivered back-to-back Euro qualifications, and he deserves massive credit. In qualifying, Spain were beaten on an electrifying night at Hampden Park, while there was a remarkable comeback win against Norway in Oslo. Scotland won their first five qualifiers, and although they slowed down after that, the bulk of the work was done.

Manchester United's Scott McTominay was a key figure. Although much maligned, he is a really effective box-crasher, and he netted a highly impressive seven goals in qualifying. Only Romelu Lukaku, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kyllian Mbappe and Harry Kane scored more often, making McTominay the top-scoring midfielder.

Scotland's results have tailed off recently, but you have to bear in mind the quality of opposition. A 3-1 home defeat to the Auld Enemy England underlined the quality gap between the sides, a battling display wasn't enough to prevent a 2-0 defeat in Spain, while France swept them aside 4-1. Scotland did at least show fighting spirit to come from behind in qualifying draws in Georgia (2-2) and with Norway (3-3).

Norwich defender Grant Hanley has withdrawn from the squad with injury, but skipper and Liverpool full-back Andy Robertson is back in the frame after missing the last international break. Scott McKenna has picked up a knock and will be assessed.

Scots can at least breach Dutch defence

Both Teams To Score is an outsider here at 2.166/5, and that feels like a big price to me. Scotland have scored in 23 of their last 26 internationals, but they have been leaking plenty of goals too, conceding 14 goals in the last five matches alone.

The Dutch have only failed to score in one of their last 30 internationals, but with Koeman experimenting, I suspect Scotland will be given a few chances on the night in Amsterdam. Clarke's side have scored against Spain, France, England and Norway (twice) in the past year, and they can find the net here.

Memphis can lead the way

Memphis (he disassociated himself with the surname Depay because he is estranged from his father) looked razor-sharp in Atletico Madrid's Champions League victory against Inter, scoring the goal that forced extra time. Despite the fact he's not in Atleti's first XI when everyone is fit, he has still rattled in nine goals in all competitions.

For the Netherlands, Memphis has 44 goals in 88 caps, and at 2.6613/8 on the Exchange to score at any time here, I think he's worth backing if he's in Koeman's starting XI.

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