UEFA Nations League: Opportunistic Denmark to Send Iceland Into Flames

Denmark vs Iceland

The Danes are riding hot in form here in the UEFA Nations League and they have a golden opportunity to go on top of Group A2 should they win against Iceland on Sunday evening.

Denmark will aim for their third straight victory to gain more ground and boost their chances in advancing to the knockout stages of the tournament.

Kasper Hjulmand’s men are level on points with England and two behind table leaders Belgium. On the other hand, their visitors in Iceland are at the bottom of the pack with zero points.

Elsewhere, Belgium and England will face off anew on the same night. So this particular match matters more for Denmark than it is for Iceland since they’ll clash with the top-ranked team in the world on November 18th.

Meanwhile, Iceland are out to play as spoilers for the Danes. Erik Hamren’s men are in desperate search for a positive result to salvage some pride in their tumultuous campaign, so they are expected to bring their A-game this weekend.

Read on below for this match preview courtesy of SBOTOP.

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Talking points

Denmark are brimming in confidence

Kasper Hjulmand’s men were in perilous position for a while since they were placed in a tough bracket alongside England and Belgium. So the fact that they’ve turned this around is a huge kudos to them.

From the time that they defeated England last month at the Wembley Stadium, Denmark’s confidence was sky high and it stayed there for good.

The Danes took advantage of the Three Lions’ troublesome form as their top strikers were not on target. Overall, it was a horrific night for Gareth Southgate’s men and they finished the match with less than 11 men.

And then during their international friendly against Sweden, it was the young guns who came to play.

After a lacklustre first half, Denmark got major contributions off the bench as Jonas Older Wind and Alexander Bah scored two goals in just a span of 13 minutes.

Given these youngsters’ performances in the last time out, they are expected to be considered in the starting XI, especially with Robert Skov testing positive for COVID-19 few days ago.

Christian Eriksen will be a marked man for Iceland’s backline as he’s pouring on the goals along with some noteworthy UEFA Nations League 2020 highlights. Supporting him out front will be Yussuf Poulsen, Martin Braithwaite, and Kasper Dolberg.

Iceland will be watching out for Denmark marksman Christian Eriksen in their UEFA Nations League clash — Christian Eriksen celebrates scoring Denmark’s first goal with teammate Thomas Delaney against England

Iceland have hit rock bottom

Having suffered four straight losses already, it is becoming clear that something needs to change for Iceland.

One problem that they need to fix is their leaky defence that has already conceded the league-worst mark of 11 goals.

Meanwhile, their attack needs work too as they’ve found the back of the net only two times in this competition.

With that said, team manager Erik Hamren might consider making some changes in his starting XI.

He can choose to go with a more experienced group in Arnor Ingvi Traustason, Ari Freyr Skulason, and Runar Mar Sigurjonsson, while Gylfi Sigurdsson could retain his spot.

Kolbein Sigthorsson can also come in to help Gylfi Sigurdsson in order to give rest to Alfred Finnbogason.

History

It is no surprise that the Danes have the significant edge in the overall head-to-heads against Iceland.

In their 22 games together, Denmark have won in 19 while there have been three draws. Iceland are definitely hungry in getting that first win.

The reverse fixture was business as usual for Denmark since they won with a scoreline of 3-0 last October – with Christian Eriksen and Robert Skov scoring one each after Runar Mar Sigurjonsson had an own goal towards the end of the first half.

Betting Tip

	Denmark vs Iceland	Denmark Asian Handicap -1.25 @ 1.85
	November 16, 03:45(GMT+8)

There is significant value if you are betting for the Danes to win on Sunday, as per the latest UEFA Nations League 2020 odds.

Denmark are priced to win at 1.34, while Iceland are behind at 8.50 and a draw is at 4.70 in the 1×2 market.

Goals will come at a premium for this one especially with Iceland’s troublesome form, so going for Under 2.50 @ 1.83 or Total Goal 2-3 @ 2.10 are plausible bets as well.

Iceland will enter the match low on confidence while Denmark are eager to prove a point. And with all the bases covered, Kasper Hjulmand’s side should do well at home and cruise to a comfortable victory.