Kazakhstan v Norway

Kazakhstan vs Norway Preview

Kazakhstan will be looking to avoid a fifth defeat on the trot in all competitions on Friday afternoon when they play host to Norway in this opening game of League B Group 3 following a 3-2 loss away from home at Azerbaijan, while Norway were also handed a defeat on their travels last time out when they lost 3-1 away at Denmark in an international friendly.

Recent defeats to Greece 5-0, Luxembourg 2-1, Armenia 2-1 and the aforementioned 3-2 loss at Azerbaijan have not only resulted in Over 2.5 goals but Kazakhstan's leaky defensive unit have also shipped a total of 12 goals within these last four games as well at an average of three goals per game.

Nevertheless, a strong campaign in the previous UEFA Nations League resulted in Kazakhstan finishing top of League C Group 3 by a three-point margin over runners-up Azerbaijan thanks to picking up four wins within their six group games in a table that also included Slovakia and Belarus.

Victories against Azerbaijan and Belarus along with impressive home and away wins against Slovakia should give Stanislas Cherchesov's side plenty of confidence for this Group 3 opener against Norway, while five of Kazakhstan's last 10 home games in all competitions have resulted in Over 2.5 goals.

Norway finished runners-up in League B Group 4 to the eventual winners, Serbia, and the visitors will no doubt be keen to go one step better this time around in this upcoming UEFA Nations League campaign, starting with a positive result on the road at the Astana Arena on Friday afternoon.

The visitors have collected five wins within their last 10 internationals in all competitions which consist of victories gained over the likes of Jordan, Georgia, Cyprus, Faroe Islands and Kosovo respectively while goals have also featured on a fairly regular basis with six of Norway's last 10 games also resulting in Over 2.5 goals well.

However, the Norwegians have also slipped to defeats at the hands of Spain, Czech Republic and Norway in recent times as well, so perhaps the goals market looks the safer option especially as Norway possess their deadly striker Erling Haaland who notched six goals in each of the European Championship qualifiers and the previous UEFA Nations League campaign as well.

Indeed, seven out of Norway's last 10 outings on the road have produced three goals or more and further goals look likely here as well, as Haaland bagged yet another Premier League hat-trick on the weekend.

Kazakhstan v Norway Verdict

Both Kazakhstan and Norway look contenders to hit the back of the net here but Norway should prevail in a high-scoring game with perhaps a 2-1 scoreline in their favour.

Therefore, our main bet will be Over 2.5 goals @ 1.77

Other side bets worth considering:

Norway win & Over 2.5 goals @ 2.20

Correct Score: Norway 2-1 @ 8.50