In their 3 group games Holland scored 8 goals, conceded 2, had 46 shots with 18 on target, they had an average possession of 55.66%, were given 1 yellow card, no red cards and took 14 corners.
The Czech Republic in their 3 group games scored 3 goals, conceded 2 goals, had 28 shots with 9 on target, had an average possession of 45.66%, were given 4 yellow cards, no red cards and took 14 corners.
The referee for this game is Sergei Karasev (Russia), who this season has refereed 26 games, giving out 119 yellow cards and 9 red cards, for an average of 4.58 yellow cards per game and 0.35 red cards per game. In his career so far he has taken charge of 182 games, awarding 722 yellow cards and 52 red cards, for an average of 3.97 yellow cards per game and 0.29 red cards per game.
Holland were impressive in the group stage scoring 8 goals and look serious players in this side of the draw. The Czech Republic are no mugs, and proved that in the group stage with a solid victory against Scotland, a draw against Croatia and despite losing 1-0 to England, they caused them problems and could feel unlucky that they didn’t get a point from that game.
The bookmakers (All prices taken from Skybet), have Holland as the strong 1/3 favourites to progress from this tie. Czech Republic are 9/4 to go through. I feel the bookmakers have got this right as whilst the Czechs have proven they can be a tough nut to crack and carry a persistent threat from set pieces, Holland are the classier side by quite some way. Georginio Wijnaldum has been impressive all tournament, controlling the middle of the park and creating opportunities for the likes of Memphis Depay who has looked a threat every minute he has been on the pitch. I wouldn’t be surprised to see The Czechs pinch a goal, most likely coming from a set piece, but I think Holland will have too much firepower and eliminate The Czech republic with a 3-1 win that sends them through to the quarter finals.
The best bets in this game are (All prices taken from Skybet)
Holland to win and both teams to score – 11/4
Memphis Depay to have 1+ headed shot on target and Wijnaldum to have 1+ shot on target from outside the area – 33/1
