Wales v Norway Preview

Wales v Norway: Kick off 15:00

The second to the last international friendly offering we have on Saturday features the clash between Wales and Norway. Wales are coming off a dismal performance in their Euro 2012 qualifying group, having only won three games and losing the other five. Norway will join Wales on the sidelines come next year’s Euro finals but with a different story to their tragedy. They were able to finish as runners up in their group, tied with Portugal in terms of points. Their inferior goal difference however proved to be a stumbling block as Portugal move on to a play off to earn a spot in next year’s finals. Both teams will be looking to atone for their recent performances come Saturday nevertheless as they seek to end the year on a positive note.

Wales v Norway Betting Odds

Wales: 9/5
Draw: 9/4
Norway: 6/4

*Full Wales v Norway odds provided by and available at Bet365.com where you can get a £200 free bet on this game!

Wales Team News

Gary Speed’s men will want to maintain their two-game winning run – their best performance so far in over a year – even if it means going all-out in a friendly game such as the one against Norway at the end of the week. The Dragon’s performance have seen a big improvement in the last five months, winning four of their six games after a horrendous six-game losing run from September 2010 to May of this year. The Wales faithful will be happy that those days are over now and they will hoping that their team plays well enough to beat Norway come Saturday.

Wales are currently ranked as 45th in the FIFA world rankings, their highest in recent times after being at a record lowest at 117th.

Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey have made the headlines recently for off-the-pitch reasons but they are expected to play this game nonetheless. Daniel Gabbidon is still out due to a knee ailment while Robert Earnshaw, James Collins, Joe Ledley and Danny Collins are all back in the squad.

Likely Starting Line up: Hennessey; Gunter, Blake, Williams, Taylor; Allen, Ramsey, Crofts, Bale; Bellamy, Morison

Current Form: LWLWW

Norway Team News

Norway’s trip to Cardiff this weekend will be their last international assignment for the year 2011. They will be keen on ending the year with a win despite their harrowing fortune in the Euro 2012 qualifiers where their last minute exit boiled down to a matter of goal difference. Their performance a year ago was arguably better but yearly form aside, ending this year with a win should be Norway’s priority for now.

Norway’s football season just ended a few weeks back which means that players should be available regardless of their club ties. Still, healthy first team stalwarts are expected to kick off proceedings before giving way to second stringers late in the game.

Likely Starting Line up: Jarstein; Hogli, Waehler, Demidov, Riise; Ruud, Pedersen, Tettey, Grandheim; Carew, Huseklepp

Current Form: WWWL

Wales v Norway Betting Tips

The last four games between these two sides are equally distributed – a win to each team with the other two games ending in a draw – and the right to claiming superiority over the other is still up for grabs. Wales are playing their best football of the year despite their disappointing finish in the Euro 2012 qualifiers. Form-wise, the visiting team will be coming to Cardiff with confidence although their unfortunate exit from Euro 2012 should make them just as hungry as the home side.

Summing it all up, Wales’s performance all over the pitch will be tested by Norway’s robust consistency; the home fans will be hopeful but we’re not so sure.

Our tip: Norway to beat Wales at 6/4 on Bet365.com – get a £200 free bet on this game!