Norway vs Sweden

An all-Scandinavian derby between Norway and Sweden at the Ullevål Stadion will highlight UEFA Nations League Matchday 4.

A frustrating scoreless home draw with ten-man Slovenia last time out halted Norway’s eye-catching four-game winning streak. It also cut their lead at the top of Group B4 to a single point, throwing their hopes of qualifying for League A into doubt. With second-placed Serbia breathing down their necks, the ‘Lions’ will turn to their seven-match unbeaten home form for inspiration (W4, D3). Head coach Stale Solbakken has based his side’s recent success on a rock-solid backline that has kept a clean sheet in their last five home internationals. A potential victory in Oslo would make the history books and mark Norway’s first H2H home triumph since August 1982. After coming out on top in five of their last seven Nations League home matches (D1, L1), the Norwegians must be feeling confident.

On the other hand, uneventful Sweden slipped to a disappointing 1-0 home defeat to understrength Serbia last time out, making it two Nations League defeats in a row. Though none of their three Nations League matches this term have ended level (W1, L2), the Ullevål Stadion crowd could witness a notably tight fixture. Not only have two of those three results yielded a single-goal margin, but four of Sweden’s last six internationals have featured a full-time margin of under 1.5 goals. Worryingly, though, Janne Andersson’s men have suffered seven defeats in their nine previous Nations League outings (W2). With each of those fixtures seeing the winner lead at half-time, flying out of the traps could prove crucial for Sweden’s resurgence.