Fresh off the back of reaching the third qualifying round of the Europa Conference League, Copenhagen take on Randers in their first home game of the new Danish Superliga campaign on Saturday.
Rasmus Bertelsen's men have failed to win each of their opening two league matches and will journey to the Parken Stadium looking to get their campaign up and running.
Match preview
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Copenhagen kept their hope of securing European football alive as they thrashed Breidablik Kopavogur 6-3 in the second leg of their Europa Conference League second qualifying round tie on Wednesday.
Having claimed a 2-0 victory in Iceland, 19-year-old striker Orri Steinn Oskarsson turned in a performance of the highest quality as he racked up three goals and one assist to send the visitors out of the qualifiers.
Copenhagen now turn their attention to the Superliga, where they kicked off the 2023-24 campaign with a 2-1 victory over Lyngby on July 22, one week before grinding out a 3-2 victory over Vejle.
Jacob Neestrup's side have now won their opening four games of the season across all competitions since concluding their pre-season fixtures with a 3-2 loss against Viktoria Plzen on July 14.
Copenhagen, who clinched a second consecutive Superliga title last season, head into Saturday's game unbeaten in their last five competitive home matches, picking up four wins and one draw since April's 1-0 loss to Brondby.
Randers, on the other hand, were unlucky not to have picked up an opening-day win as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Odense when the sides squared off on July 23.
However, they were left spitting feathers last Sunday as they played out another 2-2 draw with newly-promoted Hvidovre at the Cepheus Park Randers after throwing away a two-goal lead.
Filip Bundgaard and Simen Bolkan Nordli put Randers two goals up inside the opening 32 minutes, but Andreas Syed pulled one back for the visitors before Christian Jakobsen struck in the 57th minute to force a share of the spoils.
With that result, Bertelsen's men have now gone eight consecutive games without a win across all competitions, losing five and claiming three draws since April's 4-0 victory over Brondby.
Randers finished sixth in the Superliga Championship round last season and will need to up the ante this weekend if they are to replicate their impressive display from the last campaign.
However, next up is the challenge of taking on an opposing side who are unbeaten in 14 of their last 20 meetings, claiming 12 wins and two draws since May 2009.
Team News
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Copenhagen remain without the experience of 30-year-old defender Davit Khocholava, who has been out of action since April through a knee injury.
Andreas Cornelius had missed each of the last three matches through a muscle problem and the Denmark international is out of contention for Saturday's game.
The attacking duo of Akinkunmi Amoo and Khouma Babacar continue their long spells on the sidelines, while Viktor Claesson is a major doubt after picking up an injury against Viktoria Plzen on July 14.
Off the back of a superb individual display against Breidablik Kopavogur, teenage sensation Oskarsson could be rewarded with his first league start of the season.
Meanwhile, Randers will be without several key players down the spine of the team, including the trio of Alhaji Kamara, Oskar Snorre and Mikkel Kallesoe, who are all ruled out through injuries.
Veteran defender Daniel Hoegh has been out of action since coming off injured in March's game against Aalborg, while Frederik Lauenborg is recuperating from an ACL injury.
Copenhagen possible starting lineup:
Grabara; Jelert, Vavro, Diks, Sorensen; Goncalves, Clem, Jensen; Bardghji, Larsson, Achouri
Randers possible starting lineup:
Carlgren; Kopplin, Andersson, Dammers, Kaastrup; Bundgaard, Pedersen, Enggaard, Nordli; Babayan, Odey
We say: Copenhagen 2-0 Randers
Copenhagen are currently firing on all cylinders and will welcome the challenge of an out-of-sorts Randers side who have struggled to get going this season. Given the gulf in quality and experience between the two sides, we are tipping the hosts to pick up a comfortable victory.
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Top tip
Joshua Ojele
