Norway are looking to seal promotion to the elite level of the UEFA Nations League as they travel to Slovenia for a Group B4 fixture on Saturday. A closely fought encounter is expected here but given the Norwegians’ superior midfield quality and with Erling Haaland leading the line, the visitors should have the edge here.
Slovenia progressed to League B of the UNL after breezing through a group containing, Kosovo, Moldova and Greece in last year’s UNL. However, things have been difficult at the higher level as they are currently bottom of Group B4 having failed to win any of their four matches so far.
The Slovenians began their UNL campaign with back-to-back defeats to Sweden and Serbia. They appear to be turning things around as they played out a 0-0 draw with Norway in the reverse fixture before battling from two goals down to earn a 2-2 scoreline with the Serbians last time out.
One of the problems for Slovenia in recent matches is a poor record in front of their fans. Matjaz Kek’s men have claimed just one win from their last four home matches across all competitions, suffering two defeats in that run.
That 0-0 draw with Slovenia has been the only blemish in the UEFA Nations League for Norway, who are on the cusp of gaining promotion to the elite level. They have been near perfect in the competition, winning their other three matches and sitting three points clear at the top of the standings.
Norway edged out a thrilling contest with Sweden in their previous UNL fixture as they earned a 3-2 victory. A brace from Erling Haaland set them on their way while Alexander Sorloth added the third midway through the second half.
The goals have flowed freely for Norway lately with Haaland leading the line. Among the recent results for Stale Solbakken’s men is a 9-0 victory over Armenia in a friendly back in March.
How the bookies view it
Norway have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 28/29 by SBK to claim the win on Saturday. A victory for Slovenia is valued at 16/5 by BetVictor while a draw is set at odds of 5/2 by Betfred.
Recent head to head
Norway are unbeaten in the last three meetings with Slovenia, claiming one win and two draws in that run. Both teams battled to a 0-0 scoreline in the reverse fixture back in June.
Players to watch
Benjamin Sesko continues to enhance his reputation as one of the most highly rated youngsters in Europe and will be the one to watch on Saturday. The RB Salzburg forward scored the equaliser last time out against Serbia and is priced at 7/2 by Paddy Power to once again get on the score sheet.
Erling Haaland comes into the international break in blistering form with 14 goals already for Manchester City this season. The striker has also found the net 13 times in his last nine appearances for Norway and is priced at evens with Sport Nation to get on the score sheet on Saturday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Slovenia and Norway have struggled to keep things tight at the back lately with both teams seeing over 3.5 goals in their previous fixtures. A similar outcome can be considered at 29/10 with BetVictor while Paddy Power is offering 11/10 for over 2.5 goals.
Erling Haaland has opened the scoring in four of Norway’s last five matches and could be backed to score first on Saturday at 11/4 with bet365.
This UEFA Nations League match between Slovenia and Norway will be played on Sep 24, 2022 and kick off at 17:00. Check below for our tipsters best Slovenia vs Norway prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
