Netherlands vs. Spain: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream and TV Info

The Netherlands host Spain in Amsterdam in a friendly repeat of their opening game of World Cup 2014.

Vicente del Bosque will take his La Roja side to the Dutch capital in good spirits after their hard-fought 1-0 victory over Ukraine in European Championship qualifying.

His opposite number, Guus Hiddink, might well be approaching this one with trepidation, however.

Since Louis van Gaal's move to Manchester United, the Netherlands have looked a shadow of the team that ripped apart the Spanish just nine months ago.

If a defeat in Iceland wasn't bad enough, a draw at home to Turkey—and that via a deflected 92nd-minute equaliser—has really put the cat among the pigeons.

Now five points from Strakanir Okkar in second place of Group A and a huge seven points behind leaders Czech Republic, the Netherlands' quest for qualification to Euro 2016 will be hugely difficult to achieve.

Hiddink has work to do...

Date: Tuesday, March 31

Time: 7:45 p.m. BST/3:45 p.m ET

Venue: Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam

TV Info: MUTV (U.K.)

Form Lines

Last Six Results

Netherlands	Spain
D 1-1 vs. Turkey	W 1-0 vs Ukraine
W 6-0 vs. Latvia	L 0-1 vs Germany
L 2-3 vs. Mexico	W 3-0 vs Belarus
L 0-2 vs. Iceland	W 4-0 vs Luxembourg
W 3-1 vs. Kazakhstan	L 1-2 vs Slovakia
L 1-2 vs. Czech Republic	W 5-1 vs. Macedonia

Source: BBC Sport

 

Predicted Lineups

Despite this only being billed as a friendly, the Dutch have to take this one very seriously.

Their recent run of results has been extremely poor, and without Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie to unlock the door as they did in Brazil last summer, the hosts could struggle.

It's a safe bet that we won't see anything like the same scoreline as that fateful day in the Arena Fonte Nova.

We're unlikely to see Guus Hiddink tinker too much with the starting lineup that began the game against Turkey; however, Bas Dost should displace Klaas-Jan Huntelaar as Hiddink looks assess the merits of the Wolfsburg striker.

The midfield areas are crucial to the outcome of this one, and with Isco finally emerging as the genuine talent that many expected, the likes of Nigel de Jong and Georginio Wijnaldum will have their hands full.

Balancing the roving duties of Isco and Andres Iniesta will be the simple aesthetic that Sergio Busquets brings to proceedings. No fuss or fanfare, just solid defensive midfield excellence.

Wesley Sneijder isn't quite the force of old, but the team can still rely on him to produce moments of real quality.

Spain's only charge is enforced—Jordi Alba out for 10 days through an injury suffered in the game vs. Ukraine—and confirmed by FCBarcelona.com.

 

Player to Watch 

Alvaro Morata has blossomed since swapping Los Blancos for the Bianconeri, and Real Madrid's loss has definitely been Juventus' gain.

On Friday, in his first start for La Roja, the 22-year-old showed his striker's instinct with the only goal of the match against Ukraine.

It capped a fine performance for the youngster who continues to stake a claim in Diego Costa's absence at international level.

Whether in to feet or aerially Morata's positional sense to receive is excellent, as is his awareness of those around him.

He'll aim to split Bruno Martins Indi and Stefan de Vrij at every opportunity, and his intelligent running off of the ball should also help create chances for his colleagues.

 

Key Battle

Wolfsburg's Bas Dost has been thrust into the international spotlight after his recent goalscoring exploits in the Bundesliga.

While he hasn't registered in his last five outings, the 6'5" target man managed 14 goals and two assists in his previous nine, bringing him national acclaim.

It's his best scoring run since 32 goals in 34 games in the Dutch Eredivisie in 2011/12, which earned him the move to Germany.

Dost is old-school and a real handful, especially aerially. To that end, it's likely Guus Hiddink will have him target Barcelona's Gerard Pique rather than his central defensive partner, Sergio Ramos.

Although Pique has had a spectacular season himself, he remains susceptible to the high ball into the box. 

With Jordi Alba's pace missing, ex-Barca man Ibrahim Afellay will use his pace well down that flank and aim to feed Dost as much as possible. 

Adept at holding up play too, as he showed against Turkey last time out, Pique needs to stick tight to Dost all game or risk being undone time and again by the hitman.