Norway Women vs Northern Ireland Women Match Analysis and Prediction

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Norway Women will kick off their Women’s Euro 2022 campaign when they take on Northern Ireland Women at St Mary’s on Thursday.

Martin Sjogren is looking to guide his side to their third European Championship trophy, while Kenny Shiels will see his Northern Ireland side head into their first major tournament.

Norway have already been previously crowned champions of Europe on two occasions, with the most recent of those triumphs coming in 1993.

In their seven European Championship campaings since securing the trophy 29 years ago, Norway have reached the final on two occasions.

However, the performance that could have been regarded as their worst ever major tournament appearance was at Euro 2017, where they lost all three group matches.

After performing so underwhelmingly five years ago, Norway will be motiveted to progress from a group that features England, Austria and Northern Ireland.

However, Norway will head into the competition in a confident mood this time round after winning their last five matches, including a 2-1 victory over Denmark in their most recent game.

Northern Ireland are preparing to face familiar opponents following their four-point finish behind Norway in Euro 2022 qualifying.

After finishing second, Northern Ireland faced Unkraine in the playoffs for a spot at the European Championship, and they managed to stick their place in the history books with a 4-1 aggregate win.

Shiels’ side know that as the lowest-ranked side at the competition, they face an uphill struggle to pick up points in the group stage.

Preparations have also been less than ideal for the Green and White Army, with their last four matches all ending in defeats.

Although securing a positive result on Thursday may prove difficult, Northern Ireland will be hoping to experience a closer contest than their two meetings against Norway in qualifying which both ended in 6-0 defeats.

Norway Women vs Northern Ireland Women head to head

The two teams have previously met on six occasions across all competitions, where Norway have claimed five victories while Northern Ireland have won once. Norway have scored 22 goals and conceded four in the process. In their last meeting, Norway claimed a 6-0 home win in the UEFA Women’s Championship.

Norway 2-0 Northern Ireland 20/06/12

Norway 4-1 Northern Ireland 15/09/17

Northern Ireland 0-3 Norway 10/04/18

Northern Ireland 0-6 Norway 30/08/19

Norway 6-0 Northern Ireland 08/11/19

Norway Women latest home form

Norway have recently been on a good run of form at home, having lost just one of their six most recent matches. They managed to defeat New Zealand 2-0 in their last home game in a friendly. In their last five matches, they have scored 13 goals and conceded just four.

Norway 4-0 Belgium 26/10/21

Norway 0-2 Portugal 16/02/22

Norway 5-1 Kosovo 07/04/22

Norway 2-1 Poland 12/04/22

Norway 2-0 New Zealand 25/06/22

Norway Women latest away form

Norway have recently been on a good run of form on the road, having lost just one of their seven most recent matches. They managed to defeat Denmark 2-1 in their last away game in a friendly. In their last five matches, they have scored 22 goals and conceded just three.

Albania 0-7 Norway 25/11/21

Armenia 0-10 Norway 01/12/21

Italy 2-1 Norway 20/02/22

Portugal 0-2 Norway 23/02/22

Denmark 1-2 Norway 29/06/22

Northern Ireland Women latest home form

Northern Ireland have recently failed to keep a good run of form at home, having lost each of their two most recent matches. They lost 5-0 to England in their last home game in World Cup Qualification. In their last five matches, they have scored 14 goals and conceded nine.

Northern Ireland 9-0 North Macedonia 29/11/21

Northern Ireland 3-1 Faroe Islands 17/02/22

Northern Ireland 2-2 Switzerland 20/02/22

Northern Ireland 0-1 Romania 23/02/22

Northern Ireland 0-5 England 12/04/22

Northern Ireland Women latest away form

Nothern Ireland have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having lost each of their two most recent matches. They lost 4-1 to Belgium in their last away game in a friendly. In their last five matches, they have scored 15 goals and conceded 12.

Ukraine 1-2 Northern Ireland 09/04/21

England 4-0 Northern Ireland 23/10/21

North Macedonia 0-11 Northern Ireland 25/11/21

Austria 3-1 Northern Ireland 08/04/22

Belgium 4-1 Nothern Ireland 23/06/22

Norway Women news

Norway’s captain Maren Mjelde, who plays for Chelsea, is expected to form a partnership with Maria Thorisdottir in the centre of defence, while Ada Hegerberg will be the main goal threat throughout the tournament.

Ingrid Engen is set to feature in cental midfield alongside Frida Maanum, leaving Vilde Boe Risa on the bench.

Northern Ireland Women news

Captain Marissa Callaghan is an injury doubt after missing the final warm-up game against Belgium, while Nadene Caldwell will partner Rachel Furness in the centre of midfield.

Lauren Wade could have the lonely task of leading the line for the hosts in a contest where they may see very little of the ball.

Prediction and Odds

Northern Ireland head into the game not expecting much of a victory, but they will be hoping to experience a closer contest than their last two encounter with Norway.

The hosts cruised to 6-0 victories in the last two meetings between the sides, and we expect them claim a comfortable win.

Odds: 1 1.68 X 2.00 2 2.22