Norway vs. Russia: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info and Preview
Fabio Capello's Russia take on Norway on Saturday in what will be their final warm-up fixture ahead of this summer's World Cup.
Slovakia provided the Brazil-bound side with an uncomfortable examination on Monday evening, where Russia walked away as 1-0 victors following a tight display. Norway are in a considerably more dour mood after being thumped 4-0 by France in their Tuesday outing.
These friendlies arguably play very little significance toward a side's fortunes in any major tournament, but Russia will be looking for a more expansive, confidence-boosting display in Oslo, with all essential viewing information and preview detailed ahead.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
Date: Saturday, May 31
Time: 3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. ET
Live Stream: beIN Sports Play (subscription required)
TV Info: beINSports 3
Norway Key Man: Havard Nordtveit
Havard Nordtveit is something of an oddity within Norway's ranks in that he plays a position rarely ever seen of him at the club level.
Borussia Monchengladbach's central anchor turns centre-back under Per-Mathias Hogmo's command, and the tough-tackling 23-year-old will be out to do far better on Saturday than the four goals his team conceded against Les Bleus earlier in the week.
Brede Hangeland is the more domineering of the central defenders aerially, but Nordtveit is the more agile presence on the ground, and so Aleksandr Kerzhakov and Aleksandr Kokorin may see him as the main obstacle to their scoring chances this weekend.
Norwegian football writer Brendan Husebo criticised the duo in the fallout from the humiliating loss to France this week:
Capello often opts to field just one main striker in a formation that regularly switches between 4-3-3, 4-5-1 or any combination in between, but it's those support players coming from deeper in their midfield that Nordtveit must be equally aware of.
Russia Key Man: Igor Denisov
On paper, this Russia squad is superior to their Norwegian counterparts by quite some distance, and Saturday's visitors can afford to be a little more adventurous in Oslo.
This means the midfield moving outside their normal boundaries, and while potentially leaving gaps in a defensive sense, Dynamo Moscow's Igor Denisov must be the ever-resolute man in their middle.
The ex-Anzhi Makhachkala anchor needs to be the one man upon whom Capello can rely to rein things in at his team's core should play ever break up and others be caught out of position when attempting to make things tick in attack.
That being said, Denisov's duties are far from being that one-dimensional, and he'll be expected to contribute to the attack as well, unleashing the likes of Alan Dzagoev and heaping further woe on an exposed Norway back line.
