UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifying: Spain vs Norway preview

Spain are looking to bounce back from their recent disappointments with a good Euro 2020 qualifying campaign, and it all starts on Saturday evening at Mestalla Stadium in Valencia, where they host Norway. The two teams will fight for qualification in Group F alongside Sweden, Romania, Malta and Faroe Islands. The last meetings between Spain and Norway happened in 2003, when the two sides fought in the playoffs to qualify for the 2004 European Championships. Spain dominated that encounter quite clearly, they won 2-1 at home and 3-0 in Norway. The only previous meeting was at Euro 2000, where Norway pulled off a 1-0 victory over Spain. Spain had a disappointing World Cup as they lost in the first knockout round against host nation Russia, and then they failed to recover from that setback in the UEFA Nations League. They started things well with a 2-1 victory over England in London, but then lost at home against the Three Lions and also got defeated 3-2 in Croatia. They ended the season with a 1-0 friendly victory over Bosnia & Herzegovina in November, but the fans are expecting a lot more from head coach Luis Enrique and his players. Sergi Gomez, Sergio Canales and Jaime Mata were all called up to the national team for the first time, while Thiago Alcantara and Isco were overlooked this time. Norway have not qualified for an European Championship since 2000, when they managed to beat Spain but failed to qualify from the group stage. This time they seem to have a bit more confidence after a good campaign in the UEFA Nations League, they won their group and got promoted to the second tier of the competition. They won four of their six matches in the Nations League and have not lost any of their last four games. Their last result was a 2-0 victory in Cyprus, three days after a 1-1 draw recorded in Slovenia. Overall, Norway have lost just one of their last ten matches in all competitions. Probable line-ups: Spain: De Gea - Ramos, Roberto, Martinez, Gaya - Ceballos, Busquets, Niguez - Moreno, Morata, Muniain Norway: Jarstein - Elabdellaoui, Rosted, Nordtveit, Aleesami - Johansen, Selnaes, Henriksen, Elyounoussi - King, Kamara My prediction: Spain to win 3-0, Luis Enrique won't allow his men to have a poor start to this campaign. Here are the odds for the match at Bet365: Spain win - 1.18 Draw - 8.00 Norway win - 19.00