England vs Holland: Pearce youngsters to make big impression
Published:Stuart Pearce’s youthful team selection for England’s friendly with Holland has raised many eyebrows, but the under-21 boss’s faith in the next generation of talent can see him steer England to victory at 7/4.
Holland, who lost out in extra-time to Spain in the 2010 World Cup final, are 17/10 to score an away win at Wembley, a ground familiar to the likes of Nigel De Jong, Robin Van Persie and Dirk Kuyt, with them all appearing at the stadium in domestic cup finals in the past year.
It is 2/1 for the draw, and the prospect of superior Dutch experience cancelling out the raw exuberance of an untried England side could tempt punters to back this outcome.
In their last two international friendlies, each played at Wembley, England won by a 1-0 scoreline, and they can be backed to achieve success by the same scoreline at 6/1 here.
Over a year has passed since England last suffered defeat, and out of the three draws they recorded in 2011, two ended 2-2.
A big 14/1 price is available for a repeat of that here.
Meanwhile, England scored at least twice in exactly half of all their matches of the past year, and this makes the 2/1 on offer for England to score 2-3 goals at Wembley look highly appealing.
Equally as attractive a proposition is England to win or draw the game with three or more goals notched, at 11/5.
Van Persie will provide the visitors’ main threat, keen to carry his blistering club form onto the international stage by scoring first at 5/1.
With Wayne Rooney missing, Steven Gerrard is joint-favourite to score first for England at a decent 7/1, but Daniel Sturridge could get his first start, and the Chelsea striker can stake his claim for a regular berth by hitting the opener at a lengthy 8/1.
