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Sweden Battle Norway In Scandinavian Showdown

The chaos and entertainment that comes with the European Championship qualifiers always leads to a series of really fun encounters, with underdogs rising up through the ranks whereas the big dogs can often slip up. Today, we’re going to take a look at what should be one of the most personal showdowns of the international break: Sweden vs Norway. The Scandinavian neighbours are both in with a great chance of qualifying for UEFA Euro 2020, and while there’s a good chance only one of them will, that doesn’t mean they aren’t going to produce a great game when they meet later on today.

Sweden kicked off their qualification campaign with a narrow 2-1 win over Romania, before playing out a thrilling 3-3 draw with Norway – which gives you a good idea of what we can come to expect. They proceeded to defeat Malta 3-0 before coming head to head with a brick wall in the form of Spain, with the former world champion winning 3-0. They were able to get back on track in the form of a showdown with Faroe Islands, tearing through them 4-0. In terms of team news, Lustig and Krafth will compete for a spot in the starting XI, with Claesson being ruled out of the rest of qualifying.

Norway had a tough start to their qualifying with a clash against Spain, who beat them 2-1. Up next was a 3-3 war against Sweden, which certainly lived up to the hype. They then drew with Romania which will probably be seen as a slightly disappointing result, but they had a few favourable games to get them back on track as they beat Faroe Islands and Malta. Haaland made his debut in the game against Malta but isn’t expected to feature here, with Berge being set to remain in the middle of the park ahead of Henriksen.

Sweden vs Norway Betting Prediction

The inconsistency of Norway at the back is what we think will prove to be their downfall in this game. The Swedes have been an organised unit for years now, which is what has put them in such good positions to succeed in international tournaments – which includes reaching the quarter-finals of last year’s World Cup. It’s going to be competitive and we can picture a lot of harsh tackles flying in throughout the course of the game, which should make for one of the most entertaining games to watch of the weekend (or utterly chaotic).