Netherlands were held to a 2-2 draw by Japan last time out, after conceding from a corner in the 89th minute. That result puts the Dutch under considerable pressure for this fixture, knowing they could be in serious danger of going out if they drop points again. They will have to be front-footed in search of the three points. 

This matchup against Sweden won't be a walk in the park, given how convincingly they beat Tunisia last time out. Graham Potter’s men punished pretty much every mistake from Tunisia in round one - with a strike partnership of Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres, they will constantly be a threat going forward even against the elite teams.

Netherlands saw a total of nine corners in their opening fixture against Japan, with five corners for and four conceded. The Dutch often look to commit bodies forward with overlapping full backs, which allows them to consistently get to the byline and generate crossing opportunities - which in turn leads to more corners.

They will have to play with intent here against Sweden right from the outset. Graham Potter’s men didn’t have much defending to do in round one, but their backline doesn’t look as strong on paper as their attack. Netherlands will fancy their chances of causing issues in the final third.

Cody Gakpo will be the designated penalty taker for the Dutch, having scored a brace from the spot against Uzbekistan in the final World Cup warm-up friendly. He is one of the senior players in this Dutch squad, and has a massive role on the left wing under Ronald Koeman.

Gakpo can often be quite predictable in his play, looking to cut inside from the flank onto his stronger right foot, but he is still so difficult to stop - he had two shots against Japan last time out, one of which forced a save from Zion Suzuki. 

Gakpo scored four goals from eight starts for his national side in the qualifiers, finishing with an average of 2.48 shots per 90, with 44% of those efforts hitting the target.

Victor Lindelof helped Aston Villa secure the Europa League title this season, and he played a key role towards the end of the campaign. The 31-year-old was primarily used by Unai Emery to fill in gaps rather than being a consistent starter, which is reflected in his average of just 0.5 fouls per 90. 

However, Lindelof is given much greater responsibility for his national side with the captain's armband, and that has brought an uptick in fouls. Lindelof has an average of 1.32 fouls per 90 since the start of the Nations League, which included two infringements against Tunisia last time out. The centre back will be kept busy by Crysencio Summerville on the flank here.

Sweden's form over the last year or so has been quite inconsistent, with the highs of their Nations League campaign followed by the lows of their World Cup qualifying path. However, Gyokeres' output has remained steady for his national side. 

He was on the scoresheet against Tunisia last time out, and was unfortunate not to have scored more, given that he had five shots of which two hit the target, and one was cleared off the line. Gyokeres is a relentless threat in the final third - he scored nine goals in six matches in the Nations League and followed that up with four goals in six qualifying appearances.

Gyokeres has formed a formidable partnership up front with Isak, and those two will hope to cause real problems for the Dutch defensive unit at the NRG Stadium. Isak has had his fair share of injury issues this season, having suffered a serious leg injury against Tottenham earlier in the campaign, but the Liverpool striker has returned to full fitness and was exceptional against Tunisia in round one. 

He took just 30 minutes to open his goalscoring account in the competition, before providing the assist for Gyokeres in the second period, then doubling his assist tally in the 84th minute - finishing the game with three goal involvements. The 26-year-old will want to keep that form going against Netherlands, and he will know all about Virgil van Dijk, given that they are team-mates at Liverpool.

Cody Gakpo had an average of 1.79 fouls drawn per 90 in the qualifiers, which shows just how often he sees the ball. Even for Liverpool that figure remained high - he had an average of 1.51 fouls drawn per 90 across all competitions. 

Based on that, Alexander Bernhardsson could be in for a tough match in the right wing back position, tasked with containing Gakpo. Bernhardsson had an average of 1.3 fouls per 90 for Sweden during their qualifying group, along with 2.07 tackles per 90. The Holstein Kiel defender also had an average of 1.94 fouls per 90 domestically this campaign, which shows how he tends to be strong in his tackles.

Netherlands were kept relatively quiet by an organised Japan defensive unit last time out, managing just 10 shots across the entire game. Denzel Dumfries blanked on the shot front in round one, but Netherlands will have to be considerably more front-footed against Sweden, given the group stage position they now find themselves in. That means Dumfries should pick up more promising positions in the final third. 

The full back doesn't need a second invitation to join in with attacks, and he had an average of 2.38 shots per 90 for the Netherlands across his six starts during the World Cup qualifiers. He chipped in with two goals and recorded a shot on target in five of those six appearances.

Micky van de Ven looks set to start in the left full back position for Netherlands again after a mixed performance against Japan in round one, where he was caught out a couple of times by Japan's wide men. He was initially fortunate to escape a booking after a strong challenge in the early minutes, before eventually finding his way into the referee's notebook in the final few minutes for a cynical drag back. 

The Tottenham defender has to cover considerably more ground when playing at full back compared to his natural central position, and although he is physically well suited to the role, van de Ven can find himself caught out of position and forced into conceding fouls.