Norway Search for First Win of the Campaign

    Norway Search for First Win of the Campaign
    26/03/19 2488

    Qualifying for the 2020 European Championship continues on Tuesday night and we have a battle between two Scandinavian countries to look forward to as Norway take on Sweden.

    This match will be played at the Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo and is a big game for both teams as they aim to finish in the top two places.

    This will be the second match of the group for each side and Norway started their campaign with a tricky match away to Spain.  The Norwegians did well in Valencia and were level at 1-1 going into the final 20 minutes only to concede a penalty and lose the game 2-1.

    That was their first defeat in five matches and trends show Norway have lost only two of their last eleven matches, which is a decent record.  They finished top of their UEFA Nations League group which contained Cyprus, Slovenia and Bulgaria so have the playoffs as reassurance should they fail to qualify from this group.

    Norway have a good record at home, winning each of their last seven and remaining undefeated in their last ten. There have been wins over San Marino, Azerbaijan, Northern Ireland, Australia, Panama, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Cyprus.

    Trends show Norway have kept a clean sheet in each of their last four home matches.

    Sweden make the short trip to Oslo having defeated Romania 2-1 at home in their first Group F game.  It was a good start to the group against tricky opposition and Sweden opened up a 2-0 lead in the first half, only to allow Romania back in it after 58 minutes in the second half.  The hosts held out to claim the points in a 2-1 victory.

    The Swedes did very well at the 2018 World Cup in Russia to reach the quarter-final stage. They came through a tough group which contained Germany, Mexico and South Korea plus beat Switzerland 1-0 in the Round of 16.  They eventually lost 2-0 to England in the quarter-final.

    Despite doing well in Russia, Sweden have struggled a bit since and won only two of their eight games following the World Cup.  The two victories came in the Nations League at home against Russia and away to Turkey.

    Sweden’s away record shows they have won one of their last six games but are undefeated in their last two competitive matches, drawing in Russia and winning in Turkey.

    Team news and Norway are expected to line-up with a similar team to that which lost 2-1 in Spain.  Josh King will lead the attack and could be joined by Ola Kamara if they decide to play a more attacking formation.

    Sweden will also be tempted to stick by the starting XI from their first group game with Robin Quaison joining Marcus Berg in attack.

    This should be a very competitive game and it would not be a surprise to see it end level, with under 2.5 goals scored.


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