Netherlands and Ecuador square off in their second Group A match at the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup both desperate to make it two straight wins.
Both teams won by a 2-0 score line against the other teams in the Group, Qatar and Senegal and have 3 points a piece.
Netherlands will round off their group stage against the hosts Qatar next Tuesday and by then the hosts could already be out depending on their result against Senegal.
If the Dutch win Group A, they would take on the runner-up from Group B in the last-16 stage of the competition, which could be England, Wales, the USA or Iran.
They have lost only 2 of their last 14 World Cup matches against South American opponents, with their previous such defeat coming against Brazil in 1994.
While Ecuador have won only 2 of their 7 World Cup matches against European teams but have kept clean sheets in their last 7 games.
Though Netherlands have kept a clean sheet in each of their last 4 games in the FIFA World Cup – their longest such run in the competition.
This game has the potential to be a highly-entertaining fixture with a place in the round of 16 on the line.
Who’s your money on? Click here to make your predictions for the game.
What time does Netherlands vs Ecuador start?
The game kicks off at 7pm Kenyan time at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Netherlands vs Ecuador team news
Memphis Depay, who has 42 goals at international level, came off the bench against Netherlands but is expected to start here.
This means Vincent Janssen will drop to the bench with Cody Gakpo and Steve Bergwijn maintaining their spots in the final third.
Aside from Depay’s introduction, it’s unlikely that Louis Van Gaal will make any other changes to the side that beat Senegal.
For the visitors, Enner Valencia was the two-goal hero against Qatar, and he will captain the side as he leads the attacking line looking to add to his goal tally.
Jeremy Sarmiento may potentially be introduced in place of Michael Estrada in what would be a change of shape, in the only change expected by the South Americans.
Netherlands vs Ecuador head to head
From the two games played between these two nations, Netherlands beat Ecuador 1-0 in 2006, before they played out to a 1-1 draw eight years later.
Netherlands vs Ecuador current form
Both teams are unbeaten in their last 5 games and the Dutch are on a four-game winning streak, looking to make it 5 with a win here.
The Ecuadorians have won just twice in that run and sharing the spoils in the remaining 3 games.
Netherlands vs Ecuador prediction
With the great run of form that the Dutch are on, averaging over 1.5 goals in their games, they are expected to brave through a tough test from their opponents to bag all 3 points.