Norway and Senegal square off at the New York New Jersey Stadium in their second Group I fixture at the FIFA World Cup.
With the Norwegians looking to build on a fine performance in their opening fixture and the West Africans keen to bounce back from defeat, an open contest is expected here.
Key Stats
- Norway have scored in nine of their last 10 matches in all competitions.
- Norway have conceded in eight of their last 10 matches in all competitions.
- Senegal have scored in four of their last five matches in all competitions.
- Senegal have conceded in three of their last four matches in all competitions.
One Previous Meeting
The only previous meeting between Norway and Senegal was a friendly back in 2006, which ended 2-1 in favour of the Teranga Lions.
High-Flying Norwegians
Norway were rampant in their opening fixture in Group I as they eased to a 4-1 victory over Iraq. Erling Haaland netted a brace while Leo Ostigard was also on target after Aymen Hussein had opened the scoring with an unfortunate own-goal.
The Norwegians have continued their good form from the qualifiers, where they won all eight fixtures. Their good run also goes beyond qualifying and the World Cup, having gone unbeaten in nine of their last 10 matches in all competitions.
With Haaland leading the line, Norway look sharp in attack and have scored in nine of their last 10 matches in all competitions. However, Stale Solbakken's men tend to leave spaces at the back and are without a clean sheet in eight of those fixtures.
Senegal Need a Response
Senegal began their World Cup campaign with a 3-1 defeat to France. Ibrahim Mbaye’s second-half effort proved to be a mere consolation, having struggled to cope with France’s attacking quality.
While the result appears unflattering, Senegal's general performance was solid, as they were let down by some poor finishing up front. However, their overall form has been a bit patchy lately, with two wins and as many defeats in their last five matches in all competitions.
The first step towards getting things back on track is to improve on the finishing, and Senegal have quality going forward. Pape Thiaw's team have scored in four of their last five matches but have failed to keep a clean sheet in three of those fixtures.
Team News and Predicted Line-ups
Norway (4-3-3): Orjan Nyland; Julian Ryerson, Kristoffer Ajer, Torbjorn Heggem, David Wolfe; Sander Berge, Fredrik Aursnes, Martin Odergaard; Antonio Nusa, Erling Haaland, Alexander Sorloth.
In a bid to keep their momentum going, Norway are unlikely to make changes to the team that started the opening fixture. Haaland should feature in attack once again, with Nusa and Sorloth providing support while Ajer is set to continue at the back.
Senegal: (4-2-3-1): Edouard Mendy, Krepin Diatta, Kalidou Koulibaly, Moussa Niakhate, El Hadji Malick Diouf; Idrissa Gueye, Pape Gueye, Ibrahim Mbaye, Iliman Ndiaye, Sadio Mane; Nicolas Jackson.
Senegal need some improvement in their finishing and are likely to make a few attacking changes here. Ndiaye and Mbaye are pushing to start after coming off the bench in the opening fixture, while captain Koulibaly should continue in defence.