Football Tips: Depay delight in this 11/2 Netherlands v Ecuador Bet Builder

Will the Dutchmen fly past Ecuador into the Last 16?

Netherlands v Ecuador world cup bet builder tips

By / Football Tips, World Cup / 2 years ago

Netherlands v Ecuador Bet Builder Tips

Over 2.5 Goals
Both Teams to Score
Memphis Depay to Score Anytime
Netherlands to Win

*A Bet Builder with these bets pays at approximately 11/2 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.

Friday, November 25: 16:00 – Netherlands v Ecuador
TV: ITV, ITVX, RTE Two

Louis van Gaal’s Netherlands were made to work hard for their victory over Senegal in their opening Group A clash. Both sides were in it right until the end but a lapse in concentration among the Senegalise defence allowed Frenkie de Jong to set up Cody Gakpo to open the scoring in the 84th minute. Ecuador easily dismissed hosts Qatar in the curtain raiser but this will be a sterner test for the last of the South American teams to qualify for the tournament. Let’s go through the stats then and find some value for a four-fold Bet Builder.

Over 2.5 Goals

A win here for either side will surely see them qualify for the Last 16 with a game to go and that will be more than enough motivation for both to go for it. Of course, the Dutch have the easier game to come when they face hosts Qatar next Tuesday. With Qatar facing Senegal earlier in the day and the most likely result being a Senegalise win there’s surely going to be more pressure on Ecuador to go for it here as they’ll be facing Senegal in their final game in what will likely be the game that settles the second qualification place. 

This Dutch side comes in for some criticism in the final third of the field and are often accused of not scoring enough goals. However, stats don’t lie and they’ve scored a total of 10 goals over their last five fixtures and scored 13 over their five prior matches. Ecuador don’t score too many it must be said and while they looked strong going forward against Qatar last Sunday an argument could be made that your local pub team would look strong attacking Qatar. 

That being said, over recent games they held their own against Argentina earning a last minute draw against them and beat Peru and Nigeria and also drew with Mexico and Japan as well. La Tri have little to fear here and the Oranje have conceded in six of their last nine so we reckon there’s going to be at least three goals here and getting Overs above Evens at the time of writing offers some decent value. 

Both Teams to Score

As above really, Both Teams to Score has landed in six of the last nine for van Gaal’s side and while Ecuador’s scoring stats weren’t great over their warm-up games they’ve scored against the better sides they’ve played over the last 18 months which include the likes of Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Peru and Chile. 

The Dutch had some narrow escapes against Senegal and were lucky to keep a clean sheet, Ecuador are a tad more direct in their style than the Senegalise and they should have some decent spells of possession against this Dutch side. With Oranje conceding regularly of late in particular we have to look at Both Teams to Score landing here and again, the odds offer some decent value. 

Memphis Depay to Score Anytime

Prior to their first Group A match the media were pretty much sure that Barcelona’s Memphis Depay wouldn’t make the starting XI. When it was looking like a goal wasn’t going to be forthcoming though van Gaal had little choice other than to throw on their best goal-scoring threat as they searched for a winner. 

Depay’s stats for the national side are very impressive, over the last few seasons he’s played 18 times, scoring 17 and creating eight but with his injury struggles this season has only made two La Liga appearances but did score in one of them. Last season he contributed 12 goals and two assists over 28 games for the Catalans. Most of the traffic will be going through him at the top of the Dutch attack and we have him as the most likely to Score Anytime here. 

Netherlands to Win

What we saw against Senegal was a Dutch side that didn’t get flustered and it’s not really being mentioned in many places. Now, this obviously isn’t a Dutch team of old, they have some quality players all over the field but they don’t have the traditional playmaker or superstar striker of previous Netherlands teams. Van Gaal though is surely the best man for this type of team as he’s so well-known and respected for getting more out of his teams than the sum of their parts. Again, they were patient against Senegal, looking to make the smart pass to try and get past a Senegalise defence that doesn’t concede many goals.

We’re likely to see a similar approach here and thanks to having the superior goal stats and players that should be what will make the difference come full time. We’re backing the Dutch to come out on top and land one foot in the Last 16 with their game against the hosts to come.

Netherlands v Ecuador World Cup Betting Tips

Over 2.5 Goals
Both Teams to Score
Memphis Depay to Score Anytime
Netherlands to Win

*A Bet Builder with these bets pays at approximately 11/2 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.

All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.

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