Moldova vs Norway Prediction: Haaland to fill his boots

Erling Haaland begins his quest to appear at a major tournament with Norway on Saturday night as his nation travel to Moldova for their opening World Cup qualifier. This one takes place at the Zimbru Stadium at 17:00, with Group I also containing Israel, Estonia and one of Italy or Germany - depending on which nation loses their Nations League quarter-final. 

Below you can find my Moldova vs Norway predictions as the European teams take aim at the World Cup. 

Team News

Moldova’s record goalscorer Ion Nicolaescu has 16 goals to his name for his country and will earn his 50th cap this weekend. He’s scored five in 17 for Heerenveen this term and is his country’s best player right now, so Norway will have to be aware of his talents. 

Another Moldovan is in line to make his 50th international appearance, as Sergiu Platica also targets another milestone. The defender can play at the heart or on the left of their back three, while captain Vadim Rata, playing his football in Romania, will start in midfield.

Football Odds

For Norway, let’s start with Haaland. The Manchester City man has scored 38 goals in 39 games for his country and is unsurprisingly already his nation’s top goalscorer of all time. Unfortunately, he won’t be able to partner Wolves striker Jorgen Strand Larsen as he has fractured a bone in his hand, while Morten Thorsby of Genoa is also out injured. 

Martin Odegaard should play here however having missed the last four Norway fixtures through injury and he could start with Sander Berge and Partick Berg in midfield. Alexander Sorloth is in good form for Atletico Madrid and could start with Haaland, while Luton’s Thelo Aasgaard is in the squad searching for his first cap. 

Moldova vs Norway Odds 

Moldova are the outsiders here at 12/1 for the win, while a draw is 9/2 and Norway are priced at 2/11. That means they have an implied win probability of 84% heading into this tie, so the scales are tipped heavily into their favour. 

Over 2.5 goals can be backed at 4/6 and BTTS is 6/4 while the home side are priced at 11/8 to find the net at anytime. That’s some good value if you fancy a slight upset. 

Norway -2 @ 7/4

As you can see from the odds, this looks to be an incredibly one-sided affair. I’m going to back Norway to win this game by three goals at 7/4 to kick us off, simply based on the quality that Norway have on their books. We can start with Haaland, but the likes of Odegaard, Berge, Sorloth and Ajer are all top-class players who should be able to dominate this game of football. 

Norway beat Kazakhstan 5-0 and Slovenia 4-1 in their last two outings, so goalscoring against these minnows isn’t an issue for them. Moldova are ranked 151st in the world and although they won six of their 10 internationals last season, they were against others in League D of the Nations League such as Malta and Gibraltar. This is a different kettle of fish and they are going to struggle. 

Bet Builder - Norway/Norway HT/FT and Erling Haaland to score 3+ goals @ 9/1

I’ve whipped together a short Bet Builder for my second selection here, as I do think Norway will dominate as I’ve already stated. Norway to be leading at half-time and win the game is fairly obvious, but I’m also going to back Haaland to score a hat-trick here. 

The Manchester City man has scored 29 goals in 39 games this season which is a remarkable record especially when you consider City have been way off the pace this term. Alongside Odegaard, he should have a field day against Moldova and can fill his boots. I don’t think there is a limit on how many goals he can score here, and a hat-trick is well within his reach. 

Offers

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