Norway will aim to keep the pressure on the Netherlands at the top of World Cup 2022 Qualifying Group G when they welcome Montenegro to the Ullevaal Stadion on Monday night.
The Scandinavian hosts were held to a 1-1 draw by Turkey last time out, while the visitors eased to a 3-0 victory over whipping boys Gibraltar.
Match preview
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Forced to navigate their October fixtures without the irrepressible Erling Braut Haaland leading the line, Norway got off to the worst possible start against Turkey on Friday evening, as Kerem Akturkoglu took just six minutes to break the deadlock in Istanbul.
However, Stale Solbakken's side would equalise through makeshift centre-forward Kristian Thorstvedt before half time to hold their out-of-form opponents to a 1-1 draw - a result which has seen them keep their World Cup dreams well and truly alive.
With a respectable tally of 14 points gleaned from a possible 21, Norway sit second in Group G behind the Netherlands - who are only two points clear at the top - but Turkey and Montenegro are also realistic challengers for the playoff spot.
Not since 1998 have Norway reached the World Cup Finals, while Euro 2000 marks their most recent appearance at a major tournament, but there is a firm belief that the Nordic nation could be on the plane to Qatar should their pursuit of a playoff spot prove successful.
Solbakken's side are now unbeaten in five World Cup Qualifying matches - with their only defeat in the group coming at home to Turkey back in March - but their opponents also have their eyes on a historic appearance at the Finals tournament.
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Montenegro are still seeking their first World Cup appearance as an independent nation, but given the way they have held their own in Group G so far, a playoff place is not beyond the realm of possibility for the world's 71st-ranked nation.
Miodrag Radulovic's side travelled to face basement side Gibraltar on Friday and barely needed to get out of second gear to record a 3-0 success, with Adam Marusic opening the scoring before Fatos Beqiraj's brace sealed a routine win away from home.
Having managed to end a four-game winless run in Group G with that victory, Montenegro remain fourth in the standings on 11 points but are only three behind Norway in the playoff spot, with 12-pointers Turkey sandwiched in between the two nations.
Radulovic's crop will therefore be counting on Latvia to do them a favour against Turkey when their Group G rivals face off at the same time on Monday, and November's clashes with the Crescent-Stars and the Netherlands will determine whether Montenegro have what it takes to make their World Cup dream a reality.
Norway claimed a narrow 1-0 win over Montenegro in March's clash courtesy of Alexander Sorloth's winner, which represented their second victory from three against the visitors, who have conceded six goals to the Scandinavians in that time.
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Team News
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Norway midfielder Morten Thorsby will play no part in this clash after picking up his second booking of qualification against Turkey, so Feyenoord's Fredrik Aursnes could join Patrick Berg and Martin Odegaard in the middle.
Solbakken will take nothing for granted against this Montenegro side and ought to field a similarly strong lineup here, with Thorstvedt continuing at the tip of the attack in place of the absent Haaland, Josh King and Alexander Sorloth.
However, fresh legs will be considered given the quick turnaround, with Julian Ryerson providing an option for change at right-back ahead of Marcus Pedersen.
Montenegro did not come out of their clash with Gibraltar unscathed, as striker Stefan Mugosa and midfielder Aleksandar Scekic both had to be withdrawn with injuries before the 50-minute mark.
While the severity of both players' problems is currently unclear, neither man is expected to make the cut here, but Uros Durdevic's return from suspension does ease the visitors' concerns on the attacking front.
The veteran Stevan Jovetic could now link up with Friday's two-goal hero Beqiraj in attack, while Levante's Nikola Vukcevic may deputise for Scekic in the engine room.
Norway possible starting lineup:
Nyland; Ryerson, Strandberg, Hanche-Olsen, Meling; Odegaard, Berg, Aursnes; Hauge, Thorstvedt, Elyounoussi
Montenegro possible starting lineup:
Mijatovic; Vesovic, Vujacic, Tomasevic, Radunovic; Marusic, Vukcevic, Kosovic, Jovovic; Jovetic, Beqiraj
We say: Norway 2-1 Montenegro
Montenegro command plenty of respect as they remain in the mix for a second-placed finish, and they ought to be on cloud nine after ending their winless streak in emphatic fashion last time out.
However, the hosts have strung together an impressive unbeaten run in qualification and are coping just fine in the absence of three crucial centre-forwards, so we expect Norway to tighten their grip on second place with a hard-fought win.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
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 50.6%. A win for Montenegro had a probability of 25.58% and a draw had a probability of 23.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Norway win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.72%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.64%) and 2-0 (8.35%). The likeliest Montenegro win was 0-1 (6.52%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.21%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with an 8.4% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Norway would win this match.
