Sotra have taken 3 wins and 1 draw from their 4 away matches this season and remain unbeaten on the road, scoring 8 goals and conceding only 2. They have been strong at both ends away from home. Across 8 matches overall, the team has scored 21 goals, averaging an impressive 2.63 goals per game. Their attack is in hot form, and against an Arendal side that is defensively weak at home, scoring away goals looks almost inevitable.
Another major factor is Arendal’s poor defending. Arendal are winless in 8 matches this season and have conceded as many as 16 goals, averaging 2 goals conceded per game, with a back line that has been virtually nonexistent. They have also let in 6 goals in 4 home matches, and against Sotra’s powerful attack, another home concession seems hard to avoid. Although Arendal are not especially threatening going forward, they have scored 3 goals in 4 home games, giving them some ability to nick a goal on the counter.
The head-to-head record also supports the over. In the last 10 meetings between the two sides, the over hit 50% of the time, with several matches producing 3 goals or more. In the first leg, Sotra beat Arendal 3-1 at home in a match that was far from conservative.
In the betting market, mainstream companies have set the total goals line at 2.5/3, while the price for the over is generally kept in the low range of 0.76-0.90, showing that bookmakers are clearly wary of the over. Combined with Sotra’s strong away firepower and Arendal’s shaky defense, this match has a strong chance of turning into an open, attack-minded contest.