Norway welcome Serbia to Ullevaal Stadion on Thursday, with both sides hoping to move one step closer to qualifying for next summer’s European Championship.
The two nations were forced to enter the play-offs after finishing third in their respective qualifying groups.
Norway finished behind Spain and Sweden in Group F, despite losing just one of their 10 qualifying games.
Det er gått et helt år siden sist @martinio98 var på samling. Nå er han endelig tilbake, og mer enn klar til å møte Serbia med resten av landslagsgutta på torsdag👊🏻🇳🇴 #sterkeresammen pic.twitter.com/Hlt5bsVBRs— Fotballandslaget (@nff_landslag) October 5, 2020
Det er gått et helt år siden sist @martinio98 var på samling. Nå er han endelig tilbake, og mer enn klar til å møte Serbia med resten av landslagsgutta på torsdag👊🏻🇳🇴 #sterkeresammen pic.twitter.com/Hlt5bsVBRs
Lars Lagerback’s side picked up four wins in a group that also featured Romania, Faroe Islands and Malta, although five draws prevented Norway from finishing in the top two.
The Lions have only played two games this year. They kicked off their Nations League campaign with a 2-1 defeat to Austria before thrashing Northern Ireland 5-1.
Their previous result means Norway will come into this clash full of confidence. It’s also worth pointing out that Norway haven't lost any of their last nine Euro qualifiers.
Meanwhile, Serbia finished six points behind Ukraine and three points behind Portugal in Group B. They ended up ten points clear of second-bottom Luxembourg and 13 ahead of Lithuania.
Scoring goals wasn’t a problem for the Eagles, as they netted 17 goals in eight qualifying games – a rate of just over two goals per game.
However, let’s not forget that Ljubisa Tumbakovic’s side also conceded 17 goals, leaving them with a goal difference of zero.
With those statistics in mind, it’s hardly surprising that both teams have scored in each of Serbia’s last six Euro qualifiers.
Serbia’s Nations League campaign started with a 3-1 defeat to Russia in September, but the Eagles bounced back to secure a hard-fought goalless draw with Turkey soon after.
Head-to-head: Norway and Serbia have only met on one previous occasion. The two nations played out a 1-1 draw in a friendly back in 2006.
Team news: Alexander Sorloth is Norway’s danger man. The striker – who recently joined RB Leipzig – has notched up six goals and an assist in his last five international appearances.
As for Serbia, Aleksandar Mitrovic has netted 35 goals in 57 games for his country. Remarkably, the Fulham forward has bagged 12 goals in his last nine games for Serbia.
This is set to be a tight game between two evenly matched teams. Both sides boast strong attacking line-ups, but their defences are relatively weak.
Forebet predicts that both teams will score, although the game is likely to end in a draw. Extra-time and penalties could be required to decide this one.