The Johan Cruyff Arena is the stage for this highly-enthralling matchup this Thursday as The Netherlands goes up against Austria on Matchday 2 of the European Championship. Read on for our expert tips and predictions.

The Netherlands lead on their head-to-head record as they head into this game having beaten their opponents eight times in 18 encounters, compared to Austria’s four wins.

Highly-anticipated encounter on the cards

The Netherlands managed to survive a scare in the opening game from Andriy Schevchenko’s men. Goals from Werghost and Wijnaldum had put them in a dominant position but the Ukrainians fought back with two goals of their own. The PSV skipper Denzel Dumfries headed in the winner to cap off probably the match of the tournament yet.

Austria recorded their first-ever European Championship victory as they got the better of newcomers North Macedonia. Pandev’s equalizer following Lainer’s opener set up quite a frantic second half but the Austrians managed to score two goals of their own as they went home with all three points.

Netherlands vs Austria Team News

Netherlands possible starting XI:

Stekelenburg; de Ligt, de Vrij, Blind; Dumfries, de Roon, Wijnaldum, de Jong, van Aanholt; Weghorst, Memphis

Austria possible starting XI:

Bachmann; Lienhart, Alaba, Hinteregger; Schlager; Lainer, Laimer, Sabitzer, Ulmer; Kalajdzic, Arnautovic

Netherlands vs Austria Prediction: 2-1

The Dutch were uncharacteristically formidable in their opening game even after conceding those goals while the Austrians would once again, rely on Alaba’s creative influence as they go into this game. We would have a close game on Thursday with the Dutch picking up maximum points.