 The
Netherlands have really been the
outstanding side in the tournament so
far, winning all three games in the
'Group of Death', scoring an
impressive nine goals and conceding only
once. This has seen them slashed into
7/2 favourites to lift the trophy on
June 29th, and they are many peoples
favourites to go all the way.
For once they actually
look like a team who are playing for
each other. Marco Van Basten has managed
to control the big egos within the side,
brought back and 'made up' with Ruud Van
Nistelrooy, and his side now look like
one of the most dangerous and attacking
sides left in the whole competition.
The Dutch have impressed from all areas
on the pitch, and when we consider
the attacking prowess of Robin Van
Persie and Arjen Robben down the left
flanks, Van Nistelrooy up front and
Wesley Sneidjer and Rafael van der Vaart
holding the midfield together they do
look like a team who can simply outscore
their opponents, and their counter
attacking play as been some of the best
I can remember.
We must also remember that their defence
has only conceded one goal, with
Mathijsen and Ooijer looking steady at
the heart of defence and ably backed up
by the confident Van Der Sar in goal.
That said, we have also been impressed
by the performance of Russia coming into
this game, and this quarter final
encounter has all the signs of being a classic.
.
 Dutchman
Guus Hiddink's Russia side come into this
game after a blistering performance in their
last game, as they blew away Sweden 2-0,
which was their most impressive game of the
tournament so far. This was mainly due to
the inspired performance of the returning
Andrei Arshavin in midfield, who missed
Russia's first two group games through
suspension but was superb against the
Swedes.
What will be pleasing for Hiddink is the
fact that Russia could have scored five or
six goals in the Sweden game, and lets not
forget that Sweden did have a pretty strong
looking defence, with Mellberg and Hansson
at the back.
The Russians really do look good going
forward with the pace and guile of Arshavin
combining brilliantly with another emerging
star of Euro 2008 Roman Pavlyuchenko, and
with Konstantin Zyryanov causing all sorts
of problems down the right hand side these
three are the key to Russia's fortunes in
this match.
So who do the bookmakers fancy?
Well, the Netherlands are a shortish looking
8/11 (1.85) for the win, while the draw is
5/2 (3.5) and the Russia win is 4/1 (5.0)
This is a difficult game to predict a
winner. Russia do look great value at 4/1 to
win the game, with players on top form and
they are definitely worth a nibble at that
price, but of course Holland themselves look
inspirational in attack, and lets not forget
the Hiddink- Holland factor just to add an
extra dimension.
Betfair offer a free £25 bet on this game and the best bet for this game looks to be the
Over 2.5 goals @ 2.24.
That's not to say I've not been impressed
by both defences of these sides, Yuri
Zhirkov at left back has looked dangerous
for Russia and Alexander Anyukov on the
right looks ideal man to take care of Kuyt
or Robben, but in all honesty these two
sides thrive on their attacking play.
Guus Hiddink loves to play attacking
football - lets not forget Hiddink's
South Korea side in the World Cup of 2002,
he simply doesn't know how to play any other
way and of course with Russia getting
forward so much this will leave them open to
Holland's superb counter attacking skills.
Russia could indeed cause an upset and
are worth a nibble at 4/1.
But the main call is get on the Over 2.5
goals. That price will not last long.
This game has it all, some superb
attacking players on both sides and some
very interesting tactics employed by two
superb managers.
Sit back and enjoy the spectacle!
© Free-Bets.uk 2008
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