Malta Vs Norway
Monday 18 November 2019 – 19:45 Kick-Off
UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifying
Pick: Under 3.5 Goals
Odds: 19/20
Bookmaker: SportingBet
UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifying Betting – 22Bet
(All betting odds displayed were correct as of 17 November 2019 at 11:30)
Preview: Euro 2020 qualifying is drawing to a close. This will be the final fixture in Group F for these two countries, neither of whom can qualify automatically for the finals, as Malta welcome Norway to their National Stadium in Ta’Qali.
Malta Preview – Can a dismal campaign end positively?
Group F Results: 2-1 Faroe Islands (H), 0-2 Spain (H), Sweden 3-0 (A), 0-4 Romania (H), 2-0 Norway (A), 1-0 Romania (A), 0-4 Sweden (H), 1-0 Faroe Islands (A)
Fresh from receiving a footballing lesson in Spain, where they would ship seven goals to slump to their heaviest loss of the group, Malta (6th – W1 D0 L8, GF2 GA25) must somehow gear themselves up for one last encounter. Their final fixture will be in front of a sparse home crowd versus Norway, a nation they have lost to on all eight previous meetings and struggled to cause any problems against during their clash in Oslo two months ago.
Losing in Spain on Friday was a predictable outcome. At only 2-0 down at half-time, though, were seemingly on their way to a respectable scoreline. That soon changed in the second half, conceding a further five unanswered goals. That was an eighth consecutive defeat in this group for the nation ranked 182nd in the world, failing to score on each occasion since netting twice in an opening victory at home to the Faroe Islands (2-1).
A recent problem has been maintaining concentration levels the longer games progress. Their previous four contests have seen them ship a combined 14 goals, with 10 of those conceded in the second half. So in another lopsided contest whereby the match odds are essentially off-limit due to prohibitive pricing, a bet on the second period once again producing the most goals – which would have landed in their previous four matches, as well as six of eight overall – could be one approach.
Norway Preview – Play-offs now primary focus?
Group F Results: 2-1 Spain (A), 3-3 Sweden (H), Romania 2-2 (H), Faroe Islands 0-2 (A), 2-0 Malta (H), 1-1 Sweden (A), 1-1 Spain (H), 1-1 Romania (A), 4-0 Faroe Islands (H)
The Norwegians (4th – W3 D5 L1, GF17 GA10) would keep their slim qualifying hopes alive with a professional display against the Faroe Islands, cruising to a 4-0 win in Oslo on Friday in what was their biggest margin of victory of the campaign. Those reignited hopes were soon extinguished though, with Sweden booking their place at Euro 2020 as runners-up in this group after impressively winning in Romania later that same evening.
Attentions must now switch to the upcoming play-offs, which Norway have already qualified for after topping their group at the recent Nations League tournament. Coach Lars Lagerback could therefore decide to rest one or two influential members of his first-team in a bid to keep some fresh for more important assignments. Regardless of which personnel starts or not, Norway will go into this final group fixture as strong favourites.
‘The Lions’ should be determined to sign off on a positive note, nor will they want to surrender a decent run built up over a sustained period. Since losing their opening group clash in Spain 2-1, Norway have remained unbeaten (W3 D5). However, as is patently obvious, too many draws were ultimately their downfall. One of three wins would, however, come in the reverse meeting, easing to a 2-0 scoreline that, based on the amount of chances created, should have been much more comfortable.
Malta Vs Norway Key Facts:
- Since winning their opening group game at home to Faroe Islands, Malta have lost eight consecutive qualifiers without scoring.
- Norway can no longer qualify automatically, with a record of one win from four away qualifiers (W1 D2 L1) partly at fault.
- A 2-0 victory in Oslo in September extended Norway‘s dominance in this fixture, winning all eight previous meetings.
Betting Summary
Qualifying cannot end soon enough for Malta. Since winning their opener, at home to Faroe Islands, they’ve lost eight consecutive qualifiers without scoring a goal. The latest a 7-0 trouncing in Spain. The fact they are at home one last time may not prove a decisive factor, having lost convincingly on their own patch to Romania (0-4), Spain (0-2) and Sweden (0-4).
Transformed under the hugely experienced Lars Lagerback, Norway are a team that competed well in a very difficult group but ultimately encountered one country too good (Spain) and another who were simply more consistent (Sweden). The Norwegians will be back, sooner rather than later in the shape of the play-offs. More pertinent to this final match, they have won only one of their previous four away encounters in this group (W1 D2 L1) but have triumphed on all four visits to Malta.
It could be argued that Norway have nothing riding on this result. They’ve also struggled to maintain a high enough level away from home, winning one of four said matches whilst scoring one goal or fewer on three occasions. All four produced under 3.5 goals. Furthermore, Malta are on an eight-match losing run without scoring and seem incapable of troubling the scoring.
