Norway will enter Saturday's World Cup 2022 qualification fixture against Latvia knowing that a victory would, temporarily at least, move them to the top of Group G.
The home side are currently second in the section, two points behind leaders Netherlands, while Latvia are fifth, having picked up just five points from their eight matches thus far.
Match preview
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Norway have won five, drawn two and lost one of their eight fixtures in Group G to collect 17 points, which has left them in second spot in the table, two points behind leaders Netherlands and two ahead of third-placed Turkey.
As mentioned, a win for the home side on Saturday would move them to the top of the group, but Netherlands would return to the summit if they manage to beat Montenegro later in the evening.
Norway travel to the Netherlands on Tuesday, and six points from an available six would be enough to see the Lions finish at the top of the group, but they could also still finish third and miss out on a playoff opportunity.
Stale Solbakken's side have actually won three of their last four matches in Group G, overcoming Latvia, Gibraltar and Montenegro, in addition to picking up a valuable point away to Turkey on October 8.
Norway have not qualified for the finals of a World Cup since France 1998, though, meaning that it would be a big story if they managed to progress to the next year's tournament.
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Latvia, though, are only playing for pride at this stage, with a record of one win, two draws and five defeats from their eight games in the section leaving them fifth, and they cannot finish any higher than their current spot.
It was always going to be a huge ask for the Wolves to compete in this section, and they have never qualified for the finals of a World Cup, so their position in the group is not a surprise.
Dainis Kazakevics's side actually picked up a point away to Turkey at the end of March, though, before beating Gibraltar 3-1 in September to record their first victory in a World Cup qualifier since October 2017.
Latvia have since lost three of their four World Cup qualification fixtures, but they did manage to pick up a point in Montenegro in September and could potentially provide tricky opposition for Norway here.
That said, Norway were relatively comfortable in the reverse match back in September, with Erling Braut Haaland and Mohamed Elyounoussi scoring the goals in a 2-0 victory.
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Team News
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Norway are without the services of star player Haaland due to a hip problem, while Stian Rode Gregersen is also unavailable for selection on Saturday evening through suspension.
Elyounoussi scored both goals against Montenegro last time out and is a certain starter in the final third of the field, while Jens Petter Hauge should also feature in an attacking area.
Norway do have options in the centre-forward spot, with Watford's Joshua King and RB Leipzig's Alexander Sorloth both in the squad, but Kristian Thorstvedt could just get the nod.
As for Latvia, there are not expected to be any real surprises in their starting XI, with the team likely to be similar to the one that impressed in a 2-1 home loss to Turkey last time out.
Arturs Zjuzins is the leading goalscorer in the squad with seven goals, and the 30-year-old is expected to operate in a midfield area for his national team.
Meanwhile, Vladislavs Gutkovskis, who has found the back of the net on four occasions in 29 appearances for his country, is likely to feature as the centre-forward in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Norway possible starting lineup:
Nyland; Pedersen, Hanche-Olsen, Strandberg, Meling; Odegaard, Midtsjo, Thorsby; Hauge, Thorstvedt, Elyounoussi
Latvia possible starting lineup:
Ozols; Savalnieks, Cernomordijs, Dubra, Jurkovskis; Zjuzins, Emsis; Kamess, Uldrikis, Ciganiks; Gutkovskis
We say: Norway 2-0 Latvia
The absence of Haaland is a huge blow for Norway, but the home side still have plenty of quality in the forward positions, and we are expecting them to pick up another important victory in relatively routine fashion here.
Top tip
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Norway win with a probability of 61%. A draw had a probability of 24% and a win for Latvia had a probability of 15.01%.
The most likely scoreline for a Norway win was 1-0 with a probability of 15.97%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (13.26%) and 2-1 (9.03%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.87%), while for a Latvia win it was 0-1 (6.55%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 9.6% likelihood.
