Preview: Norway vs. Scotland - prediction, team news, lineups

Steve Clarke's side are sitting pretty at the summit with six points from their opening two games, while their hosts are yet to post a victory in the section.

Match preview

Being forced to witness their Nordic neighbours in Denmark, Sweden, Iceland and Finland - at Euro 2020 - test their mettle in major tournaments time and time again, Norway's attempts to qualify for the European Championships for the first time since 2000 have not started brightly.

Stale Solbakken's men could not be knocked for going down 3-0 to 2008 and 2012 winners Spain, but the world's 44th-ranked nation failed to adequately respond during a subsequent sojourn to Georgia on March 28, as an Alexander Sorloth strike preceded a Georges Mikautadze equaliser for the hosts.

Catch-up will be the name of the game for Norway this month, as the Scandinavian nation occupy third place in the fledgling Group A standings behind Spain and Scotland - the former of whom are only two points clear - while holding a slender advantage over basement team Cyprus.

A seven-game run without a clean sheet does not make for pleasant reading for Norwegian supporters either, although they did find the back of the net in all of their home qualifying games for Euro 2020, including their agonising playoff defeat to Serbia after extra time.

Solbakken's men have just one win to show from their last six matches in all competitions heading into Saturday's showdown - also failing to earn promotion to League A in the UEFA Nations League despite six goals from the usual culprit Erling Braut Haaland, but Scotland have their own Manchester-based goalscoring hero to call upon for June's battles.

Scott McTominay's Manchester United career may not be going in the same trajectory as Haaland's record-breaking early days at Manchester City, but the Scotland midfielder already has the edge on his Nordic counterpart in the battle for the Euro qualifying Golden Boot thanks to two scintillating showings three months ago.

After contributing a late double against Cyprus, who had already been the victims of a John McGinn opener, McTominay replicated that showing with a brilliant brace during the visit of Spain to Hampden Park, netting either side of the break to sink Luis de la Fuente's dejected team.

Seeking to qualify for successive Euros finals for just the second time in their history, Scotland hold a three-point lead over their Spanish counterparts in first place, and Clarke's side also have the safety net of their Nations League ranking should they drop out of the top two in the coming months.

Such a scenario would see the world's 36th-ranked nation try to qualify via the playoffs again, but Scotland's away-day deficiencies could threaten to cancel out their Hampden Park heroics, as Clarke's team won just one of their five games on rival turf in 2022.

From their 18 previous meetings with Norway, Scotland boast a respectable 50% winning rate - drawing a further six and losing the other three - but Saturday's game will mark the nations' first battle for nearly a decade since Scott Brown's winner in a 2013 friendly.

Norway Euro Champ Qualifying form:

L

D

Norway form (all competitions):

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L

W

D

L

D

Scotland Euro Champ Qualifying form:

W

W

Scotland form (all competitions):

W

W

D

L

W

W

Team News

Quite literally, Haaland has been letting his hair down alongside the rest of the Manchester City crew following their terrific treble success, and there may have been quiet optimism within the Scotland camp that the European champions' celebrations may have taken their toll on the forward.

However, Solbakken has played down suggestions that Haaland will not be fit for Saturday's game, but with five goals in each of Norway's last six Euro qualifying games, Sorloth will not cede his place without a fight.

Eredivisie-winning right-back Marcus Pedersen missed Feyenoord's final two games of the season with a knock but has nevertheless been included in the squad, while Arsenal's Martin Odegaard - captain for club and country - will bring up a half-century of caps in the middle.

While the fitness news is largely positive for Norway, Scotland have lost Celtic defender Anthony Ralston to injury, while Craig Gordon, Che Adams and Grant Hanley are nowhere to be seen either.

With Ralston sidelined, Bristol City's Ross McCrorie - one of two uncapped outfield players in the ranks alongside Blackburn Rovers' Dominic Hyam - has been called up to the squad, and both men should be on standby after John Souttar took a knock earlier this week.

However, the Rangers defender is understood to have made a rapid recovery and may force his way into the backline here, while McTominay - who could become the first Scotland player to score multiple goals in three successive games since Hughie Gallacher in 1930 - should also start despite his bit-part role at Old Trafford.

Norway possible starting lineup:

Nyland; Ryerson, Ajer, Ostigard, Meling; Odegaard, Berg, Aursnes; Solbakken, Haaland, Elyounoussi

Scotland possible starting lineup:

Gunn; Tierney, Souttar, Porteous; Hickey, McGregor, McTominay, Robertson; McGinn, Christie; Dykes

We say: Norway 1-2 Scotland

Keeping Spain at bay is no mean feat for Scotland, who can proudly claim to have conceded just two goals in their last six games in all tournaments, but keeping Haaland and Odegaard shackled would be a tall order for almost any nation.

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