After getting thumped in Spain, Norway will be seeking a quick response as they travel to Georgia for their second Group A fixture in the Euro 2024 qualifiers.
There is a growing optimism in Georgia that they may finally have a generation of players talented enough to push them to their first major tournament. Led by Napoli's irrepressible winger Kvichia Kvaratskhelia, they have enjoyed a period of success in the last 12 months, culminating in promotion to League B of the UEFA Nations League.
This will be the first taste of the qualifiers for Georgia, who were not in action in the first round of matches. However, Willy Sagnol’s men come into this one with plenty of confidence having claimed a 6-1 victory over Mongolia in a friendly last weekend.
The result was a continuation of Georgia’s recent good form as they have now lost just once in their last 13 matches across all competitions. Much of their wins in that run have come against minnows. Their only loss was a 3-0 defeat to World Cup bound Morocco back in November.
Norway’s qualifying campaign got off to an poor start as they were beaten 3-0 by Spain in their opening fixture. They saw a lot of the ball and had several opportunities but were wasteful in front of goal.
Their profligacy on Saturday showed Norway sorely missed Erling Haaland, who is ruled out with injury. However, they still have some quality with Alexander Sorloth, who has been in good form with Real Sociedad while Martin Odegaard’s creativity will be vital in midfield.
While it was a disappointing defeat in Spain, the Norwegians will still head to Georgia with plenty of confidence having been decent on their recent travels. Stale Solbakken’s men have won three of their last five away matches, beating teams like Serbia, Sweden and Republic of Ireland in that run.
How the bookies view it
Norway have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 23/20 by Coral to claim the win. A victory for Georgia is valued at 11/4 by SBK while bet365 is offering odds of 12/5 for a draw.
Head to head
Norway have won all three previous matches against Georgia, although the last meeting was a Euro 2000 qualifier which ended 1-0.
Players to watch
Kvichia Kvaratskhelia did not feature in the win over Mongolia and comes into Tuesday’s clash well rested. The winger often carries Georgia’s attacking threat and having scored in five of his last six international appearances, could be backed to find the net at 3/1 with Paddy Power.
In the absence of Erling Haaland, Alexander Sorloth will be the one to watch for Norway on Tuesday. The striker will be keen to make up for his misses last Friday and could be worth keeping an eye on to score anytime at 12/5 with bet365.
Anything else catch the eye?
Georgia and Norway boast some good attacking quality and both teams can be backed to score at 42/41 by SBK. Over 3.5 goals is valued at 18/5 by BetVictor, who are also offering odds of 13/10 for over 2.5 goals.
Both teams saw more second half goals in their respective fixtures last weekend and Tuesday’s clash could be set to follow a similar pattern at 6/5 with Paddy Power.
This Euro 2024 match between Georgia and Norway will be played on Mar 28, 2023 and kick off at 17:00. Check below for our tipsters best Georgia vs Norway prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
