Norway striker Joshua King. (Photo : Getty Images)
Azerbaijan (1-0-0, 3 points) and Norway (0-1-0, 0 points) are set to face each other at the National Stadium in Baku on Saturday, Oct. 8 as the second round of 2018 FIFA World Cup UEFA qualifying tournament Group C competitions commences.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 7:45 p.m. UTC+1. It can be viewed live online thru FuboTV.
Azerbaijan had a remarkable start to the tournament by beating lowly squad San Marino, 1-0, at the San Marino Stadium in Serravalle on Sep. 4, as per ESPN.
Azerbaijan Premier League striker Ruslan Qurbanov scored the lone goal of the contest right at the stroke of halftime with the assist coming from midfielder Afran Ismayilov.
Qurbanov's winning goal gave head coach Robert Prosinečki's side three points and their first win right in the opening day of the tourney, which is much-needed in a group that also includes powerhouses Germany, Northern Ireland, and the Czech Republic.
Ismayilov is not called-up in this match against Norway, but forwards Dimitrij Nazarov and Aghabala Ramazanov will be available to help Qurbanov up front.
Meanwhile, Norway was routed by world no. 3 Germany, 0-3, at their own home stadium of Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo also on Sep. 4 to open their World Cup qualifying campaign on a low note, Goal reported.
Norway is actually much higher-ranked than Azerbaijan in the FIFA world ranking, but the team was expected to lose its tournament-opener since they faced the defending World Cup champions.
Bayern Munich forward Thomas Müller opened the scoring with a left-footed shot from the center of the box in the 15th minute to give the visitors the early advantage.
Club teammate Joshua Kimmich doubled the lead right at the stroke of halftime as he directed Müller's assist towards the net of Norway goalkeeper Rune Jarstein.
Müller netted his second goal of the game during the hour-mark of the match with the assist this time coming from Juventus midfielder Sami Khedira to complete the Germans' clean sheet and three-goal haul.
Norway is projected to bounce back strong from their opening round loss to Germany in this match against Azerbaijan.
Prediction and Predicted Lineup
The predicted result is a 2-0 victory for Norway.
Azerbaijan starting lineup (4-1-4-1 formation): Aghayev; Mirzabekov, Medvedev, Sadygov, Dashdemirov; Garayev; Israfilov, Amirguliyev, Nazarov, Qurbanov; Ramazanov
Norway starting lineup (4-1-4-1 formation): Jarstein; Svensson, Hovland, Nordtveit, Aleesami; Tettey; Berisha, Henriksen, Johansen, Diomande; King
