Norway vs Malta Predictions

Norway are aiming to get three points on the board this week as they chase a place at Euro 2020. They have started off with just one win in four, which has left them fourth in the six-team pool. They need to make it into the top two in order to book a place at the Euros, with the likes of Spain and Sweden standing in their way. One thing the hosts can’t do is drop points in a game like this, with Malta looking like rank outsiders in the group.

The hosts finished up in fourth in their World Cup qualifying group, but they’ve been boosted by their Nations League success. They topped the group in League C3, claiming 13 points from a possible 18. That’s boosted confidence for Norway, who will be in the Euro 2020 playoffs if they can’t make second thanks to their Nations League displays. However, they want to keep automatic qualification alive for as long as possible as they push for a result here.

There’s little hope in the visitors making the Euros next summer, with a tough time in the Nations League showing how far away they are. They finished bottom of their group in the fourth tier of the competition, so we struggle to see them stopping Norway here. On top of that, Malta have a poor record in their recent qualifiers. They finished the last campaign with a point from 10 games, leaving them without much hope here.

However, in their trips during the World Cup qualifying campaign they were at least consistent in their defeats. The visitors were paired with the likes of England, Scotland and Slovakia in that group, while they recorded four 2-0 defeats and a 3-0 loss across their five games. Their away record in this competition paints a similar story, with 14 losses in their last 15 trips. However, their Euro 2016 qualifying group saw them finish with under 2.5 goals in every game, including a 2-0 defeat at Norway.

Malta have failed to score in five of their last six European Championship qualifiers. They come here with five defeats in six, with all of those defeats finishing with fewer than four goals scored. So far Norway aren’t looking like a side capable of racking up big victories. They won four out of six in the Nations League, with all four wins coming to nil and all six games seeing fewer than three goals. Now we’re backing that low scoring form to continue, as Norway and under 3.5 is our tip for this one. With Malta seeing a 2-0 defeat in 80% of their away trips in the last qualifying campaign, we’re backing the same scoreline here.