Great Dane Football Blog - UK Edition: Norway

Roy Hodgson is building up a new national team after the departure of experienced Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Ashley Young. Now, a new squad is facing Norway in this season's first friendly.

England v Norway

International Friendly

Wembley Stadium

03-09-2014 @ 20.00 BST

How are the two sides form?

England - once again - had a terrible World Cup finals, losing against Italy and Uruguay, and only getting one point against Costa Rica. Since then, some of the England legends have stepped back and new upcoming hopes are set to take over.

Norway did not qualify for the World Cup, and had a quiet summer, before playing against the United Arab Emirates last week. The match ended in a goalless draw.

What are the probable line-ups?

It is an England squad with only a few players from the World Cup, why we can expect some new faces in the line up.

Hart

Baines - Chambers - Cahill - Rose

Oxlade-Chamberlain - Wilshere - Delph - Sterling

Rooney

Welbeck

________________________________________________

Pedersen - Gulbrandsen

Skjelbred - Tettey - Johansen - Elyounoussi

Høgli - Forren - Reginiussen - Linnes

Jarstein

Worth keeping an eye on

England: With Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard gone, Jack Wilshere is expected to step up and take responsibility on the England midfield. The match against Norway is a great time to start.

Norway: Per Ciljan Skjelbred was one of Norways greatest talents a few seasons back, but his career did not turn out as hoped for. Now the 27-year old has his career back on track and is one of the most important players for Norway.

What to expect from this match?

The Norwegian national team is not what it was in the past, and they are struggling to get good results. On the other hand, England performed poorly during the World Cup and with a new generation of players, the expectations are not high. However, on paper England have a much stronger team, and players with more international class and experience. England should win this match.

What are the odds?

England: 4/7 (BetFair)

Draw: 16/5 (Bet365)

Norway: 15/2 (BETVICTOR)

It's time to place your bets for the weekend! Great Dane Football Blog here gives you four suggestions to what you can bet on this weekend.

EURO 2012 Quarter Final
22-06-2012 – 19.45	Germany	-	Greece
Ladbrokes	4/11	7/2	9/1
William Hill	1.33	5.00	10.00
Unibet.com	1.30	5.25	11.00

Germany is
playing the EURO in solid form. Mario Gomez and company are so far unbeaten in
the Championship, and I don’t see Greece change it. Greece will play some
defensive football and hope for some counter attacks, which have brought them
to the Quarter Final. However, Germany is too strong and too quick for the
Greeks to follow, so I don’t see any other winner.

EURO 2012 Quarter Final
23-06-2012 – 19.45	Spain	-	France
Ladbrokes	4/5	23/10	4/1
William Hill	1.80	3.30	4.80
Unibet.com	1.85	3.45	4.60

Quite an
exciting meeting between Spain and France. Both teams have some of the best
players from England and Spain, and therefore, it can be hard to find a winner.
France seems to have the best defense while Spain has an incredible attack. The
question is which one of them will be best. I believe, however, that Spain will
be the strongest in this match and will win a small 1-0 victory.

Norway Tippeligaen
24-06-2012 – 17.00	Rosenborg	-	Strømgodset
Ladbrokes	4/6	11/4	18/5
William Hill	1.70	3.75	4.20
Unibet.com	1.72	3.65	4.65

The former Norwegian giant Rosenborg has not won a match within the last four rounds of the Tippeligaen. Their opponents for this match, Strømgodset, has won their last three matches. Even so, Rosenborg BK are favorites for this one, and comparing the squads they are the best. However, Strømgodset are on a streak and currently positioned as number two in the league. I believe that the team from Drammen can win this one.

EURO 2012 Quarter Final
24-06-2012 – 19.45	England	-	Italy
Ladbrokes	9/5	2/1	9/5
William Hill	2.80	2.90	2.80
Unibet.com	2.85	3.00	2.75

Wayne Rooney is back for England and will be
hungry for goals, as he was banned for the first two matches. He can turn out
to be decisive for England is this match, but Italy is not going to give him an
inch of space. We can expect a hard played match between these two teams and a
few free kicks. This might also be what we will see most of in this match, which
could end in a draw after 90 minutes.

Match of the week: England v Norway

Place your Bets!