Poland vs Netherlands – Preview, H2H, Line-ups, Prediction | UEFA Nations League

Frenkie de Jong-Netherlands

The Netherlands will travel to Warsaw this Thursday to face Poland in their fifth game of the 2022 UEFA Nations League campaign.

Venue: PGE Narodowy (Warsaw) 

Key Statistics

Poland have conceded nine goals in their last three games.

The hosts have just two wins from seven home games since the inaugural edition of the UEFA Nations League (D1, L4).

The Netherlands are unbeaten in 13 games (W9, D4).

They have scored 2+ goals in ten of their last 13 games.

Head to head

Poland have won just three of the last 18 head-to-head encounters with the Netherlands (D7, L8) which includes a current 11-game winless run.

Latest performances in all competitions

Poland: L-D-L-W-W

Netherlands: W-D-W-W-D

Poland

Poland will look to get their first win in four games when they welcome the Netherlands to Warsaw on Thursday.

The hosts since winning their first game of the UEFA Nations League campaign have suffered two losses and a draw, leaving them at the precipice and in danger of relegation.

Czesław Michniewicz’s side come into this tie sitting third in their group, just three points ahead of bottom of the table Wales. However, with just two games left to play, they can achieve their survival bid with a victory here.

With main man Robert Lewandowski firing on all cylinders for club side Barcelona, Michniewicz will now hope that his star man can replicate that form in a Poland shirt to fire his nation to safety here in Warsaw after he missed the reverse fixture against the Netherlands (2-2), in which Poland let slip a two-goal lead.

But given Poland’s home form, it will be difficult for their fans to be optimistic about a win. The hosts have been less than impressive at home in the UNL, with just two wins from seven games since the inaugural edition (D1, L4). One of those wins came against the lowest-ranked side they’ve faced, #57-ranked Bosnia, while their only home point against a top-ten ranked nation was a goalless draw against Italy.

Possible Poland starting line-up

Wojciech Szczesny; Mateusz Wieteska, Kamil Glik, Jakub Kiwior; Matty Cash, Szymon Zurkowski, Karol Linetty, Nicola Zalewski; Piotr Zielinski, Sebastian Szymanski, Robert Lewandowski.

Injured: None

Suspended: None

Netherlands 

Netherlands will hope to continue their unbeaten start to the UNL campaign when they face Poland.

The visitors have won three and drawn one of their opening four games of the campaign, leaving them sitting pretty at the top, three points ahead of Belgium who are in second.

The Oranje also have a richer goal difference than the Belgians and can seal a top finish in this group if they win massively here.

Louis van Gaal’s side have lost just one of their last ten UNL group stage games (W6, D3), including three straight away wins in UEFA’s newest international competition. They are unbeaten in 13 internationals, their best run since a 17-game streak between 2012-13, and so will travel to Warsaw with supreme confidence. 

Possible Netherlands starting line-up

Jasper Cillessen; Jordan Teze, Matthijs de Ligt, Bruno Martins Indi; Hans Hateboer, Teun Koopmeiners, Frenkie de Jong, Tyrell Malacia; Cody Gakpo, Vincent Janssen, Noa Lang.

Injured: Giorginio Wijnaldum 

Suspended: None 

Prediction

Poland 1-3 Netherlands