Finland vs Netherlands Prediction: Gakpo to dazzle for the Dutch again

Finland host the Netherlands in Helsinki for a Uefa World Cup qualifier on Saturday (19:45). The hosts are already two games into their campaign and have picked up four points against Malta and Lithuania.

The visitors will contest their first qualifier against Finland in Group G, which they are highly favoured to progress from, with Poland being the other team that they will both have to face. Read on for my Finland vs Netherlands prediction, aided by the latest team news and match odds.

Football Odds

Team News

Lukas Hradecky, Finland's captain, is set to earn his 100th cap for his country when he features between the sticks against the Netherlands on Saturday.

His opposite number, Mark Flekken is now his teammate, having just joined Bayer Leverkusen from Brentford, and they will be tussling for the number one jersey in Erik ten Hag's side.

Vice-captain Teemu Pukki has 129 appearances for the Huuhkajat and he is their record goalscorer with 42 goals. No one actively playing is anywhere near his total but the 35-year-old may want to extend his record before he retires.

Flekken is likely to start in goal for the Netherlands and he's expected to be shielded by captain Virgil van Dijk and either Jan Paul van Hecke or Micky van de Ven.

Lutsharel Geertruida may be given the nod to start at right-back if Ronald Koeman opts to stick with a back four, which would allow new Liverpool signing Jeremie Frimpong to play further up the field.

Frenkie de Jong and Tijjani Reijnders are likely to partner each other in the midfield again, with the latter currently linked with a summer switch to Manchester City.

In attack, Memphis Depay is still gunning to be De Oranje's all-time leading goalscorer. He sits on 47 currently, just three shy of the 50 achieved by Robin van Persie. It's more than achievable because the Corinthians attacker is a regular penalty taker for the Netherlands.

Finland vs Netherlands Odds

Finland have won just one of their past 10 matches in all competitions and they are 10/1 to stun their Dutch visitors.

Their latest appearance was a draw with Lithuania, while the Netherlands drew both their Uefa Nations League quarter-final legs against Spain. The stalemate is on offer at 4/1.

De Oranje are 1/4 to come away with the three points, which they have managed in four of their last 11 fixtures.

At least one team has failed to score in three of Finland's previous four outings and BTTS - No is available at 8/13, which has an implied probability of 61.9%.

Over 2.5 Netherlands goals @ 11/8

The Netherlands are very much a work in progress but there is a talented squad at Koeman's disposal, so there is potential for them to re-establish themselves as a force on the international stage.

Their chances of qualifying for the World Cup finals next summer are favourable given who they are up against in this group, but they cannot afford to underestimate their opponents.

They recently went toe-to-toe with reigning European champions Spain, so it shows that they have what it takes to compete against the best teams in the world right now, they just need to find a way to repeat that level on a consistent basis.

Finland will try and make life difficult for them in Helsinki, but seeing as wins have been hard to come by for the hosts, I'm expecting the Netherlands' quality to shine through.

As such, I'm backing them to score at least three goals because they are not short of attacking quality in the form of Depay, Gakpo, Reijnders, Xavi Simons, Donyell Malen, and Justin Kluivert to name a few.

This has been a successful bet in two of their past four matches in all competitions and I think the attackers can put on a show on Saturday night.

Cody Gakpo anytime goalscorer @ 6/4

Gakpo is the player I'm most confident in making an impact in this match, as he has been a regular source of goals for De Oranje in the past couple of years. The Liverpool forward's comfortability at either playing out wide or through the middle makes him a useful utility man for Koeman's side, and he poses a threat wherever he plays.

The 26-year-old has just wrapped up an impressive campaign with Liverpool, having scored 18 goals across all competitions as he helped his side reclaim the Premier League title.

He's someone who is playing with a lot of confidence right now and I think this will show in his performances for his country over the course of this international camp. I think he offers good value to find the net against Finland.

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