Watch and bet on Sweden v Holland live at bet365
Sweden play host to Netherlands tonight knowing they can qualify automatically for Euro 2012 if they avoid defeat.
Sweden are guaranteed a place in the Euro 2012 playoffs but manager Erik Hamren has set his sights higher than that and wants his team to beat Netherlands on Tuesday, and guarantee their place in next summer's tournament, as the highest ranked runner-up.
The Swedes are currently one point behind neighbours Denmark in this micro tournament but the Danes have both an inferior goal difference and a match with Portugal on Tuesday. Assuming they lose then Sweden would only need a draw against the Dutch to move ahead of Denmark.
That seems a more achievable goal for the home side against last year's beaten World Cup finalists. They were comprehensively outclassed by Netherlands in the reverse of Tuesday's fixture, losing 4-1, and it doesn't seem likely that they can turn that around. It is certainly not worth risking at odds of 17/10, with
bet365.
Instead, the draw could be a better call. It is 12/5 that the two teams finish level in Stockholm and there is plenty of reason to think that is possible. One is Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is one of the world's top footballers. The AC Milan star will cause problems for a Dutch defence that can look slightly disorganised at times and his aerial ability will be a huge threat.
The second is the fact that Netherlands have already qualified for Euro 2012. Yes, manager Bert Van Marwijk will want to maintain a 100% record in Group F but he will also not want to anger any club bosses and so it could well be the case that a number of reserve or fringe players line up in Stockholm for the Oranje.
This would make it difficult to back them to beat Sweden, at odds of 6/4, as there may be a lack of cohesion and desire, which could be dangerous against a team that are fighting for every ball.
Recommendation
Win Market - Draw (12/5,
bet365)