Group F of 2020 European Championship Qualifying was always going to be exciting to watch. Not only do we have one of the powerhouses of European football in the group, Spain, we also have two neighbours from Scandinavia.
Sweden and Norway will be both be hoping to claim the second qualifying spot in the group behind the Spanish and they meet on the 8th September at the Friends Arena in Stockholm.
This match not only has a bearing on these two nations but also Romania, who are currently 1 point behind Norway in 4th place. A win for Sweden would see them move 5 points clear of Norway but a win for the Norwegians would take them 1 point ahead of Sweden. There is all to play for in this match.
Sweden come into the game having defeated Faroe Islands 4-0 away on Thursday night to consolidate their position in 2nd place in the group. This was a match they were expected to win and the Swedes opened the scoring early and never looked back.
It was an important return to winning ways in the group following the 3-0 defeat in Spain last time out. The win over the Faroe Islands means Sweden have won three, drawn one and lost one of their five group games to date.
Trends show Sweden have won each of their last three home competitive games. They have defeated Romania and Malta at home in this group and beat Russia 2-0 in the UEFA Nations League. Sweden have lost only one of their last eleven home competitive matches.
Norway hosted Malta on Thursday night and came away with a 2-0 win to keep their hopes of qualifying alive. It took until the 34th minute to make the breakthrough but Norway added a second from the penalty spot just before half-time to seal maximum points.
That win means Norway have won two, drawn two and lost one of their five group games. The defeat came at the hands of Spain in Valencia but the Norwegians put up a good fight in a 2-1 loss. The draws at home to Romania and Sweden could be their undoing should they fail to finish in the top two.
Trends show Norway are undefeated in their last four games, winning two and drawing two. They have won two, drawn one and lost two of their last five competitive away matches, scoring at least once in each of the last four.
Team news and Sweden are expected to go with the same starting XI from their previous game. Marcus Berg will lead the line with Robin Quaison and Alexander Isak will support from the wide positions.
Norway played with two up-front against Malta at home but could revert to a 4-5-1 formation for this game. Josh King could be the lone striker.
If the first meeting between these teams is anything to go by, we should see goals.