Seeking to make it four home wins on the bounce, Elfsborg play host to Halmstads BK at Boras Arena as round 11 of the Swedish Allsvenskan gets underway on Friday.
Having failed to win any of the last six meetings between the sides since May 2021, HBK will head into the weekend looking to get one over the hosts and snap their run of two consecutive away defeats.
Match preview
Elfsborg continue to struggle for results on their travels in the new campaign as they fell to a somewhat disappointing 2-1 defeat against newcomers GAIS Goteborg at the Gamla Ullevi Stadium last Sunday.
A quick-fire double from Axel Henriksson put Goteborg two goals up inside the opening 20 minutes of the contest and after Michael Baidoo halved the deficit in the 40th minute, the home side turned in a solid defensive performance in the second half to see out a remarkable victory.
With last weekend's results, Elfsborg have now lost their four games on the road since scraping a 1-0 victory at Vasteras on matchday two back in April and have suffered defeats in six of their seven away games since the turn of the year.
Jimmy Thelin's men will be happy to return home, where they have won each of their last three matches, seeing off Sirius and Malmo before securing a huge 6-1 victory over 10-man AIK on May 15.
Elfsborg have picked up 13 points from their first 10 Allsvenskan matches to sit ninth in the table, level on points with 10th-placed Brommapojkarna but could move into sixth place with all three points on Friday.
Over in the South, Halmstads were sent crashing back down to earth on Monday as they fell to a 2-0 defeat against an in-form Djurgarden side when the teams met at Tele2 Arena.
HBK were guilty of a lack of sting at the attacking end of the pitch as early goals from Gustav Wikheim and Tokmac Nguen fired the home side to a fifth league win on the spin.
Prior to that, Halmstads snapped their run of two back-to-back defeats on May 15 when they secured a 3-0 home victory over Hacken, with Gabriel Wallentin, Naeem Mohammed and Villiam Granath getting on the scoresheet.
Having finished 12th last season, just three points above the relegation places, Magnus Haglund will be satisfied with his side's solid start to the new season as they sit seventh in the table, level on 15 points with sixth-placed Hammarby.
However, next up is the stern challenge of going up against an opposing side whom they have failed to get the better of in any of their previous six encounters, losing five and claiming one draw since a 3-2 victory in May 2021.
Halmstads have also failed to win all but one of their last 10 visits to Boras Arena since November 2008 — losing eight and picking up one draw — with the victory in May 2021 being the only exception.
Team News
Elfsborg will have to cope without the services of experienced striker Per Frick, who is set to sit out his fourth consecutive game after coming off injured against Malmo on May 5.
Veteran defender Niklas Hult missed last weekend's clash with GAIS Goteborg through a thigh injury and the 34-year-old is also out of contention for Friday's matchup.
As for Halmstads, Haglund will be unable to name experienced defender Joseph Baffo, who is currently suspended after crossing the yellow card threshold with his booking against Djurgarden.
In his absence, 20-year-old Albin Ahlstrand should be handed his third league start of the season, forming the back four with Phil Ofosu-Ayeh, Gabriel Wallentin and Vinicius Nogueira.
On the injury front, HBK remain without the duo of Marcus Olsson and centre-back Andreas Johansson, who continue their spells on the sidelines.
Elfsborg possible starting lineup:
Bundgaard; Larsson, Buhari, Holmen, Kaib; Ouma, Baidoo, Thomasen; Qasem, Abdulai, Zeneli
Halmstads BK possible starting lineup:
Erlandsson; Ofosu-Ayeh, Wallentin, Ahlstrand, Nogueira; Eyjolfsson, Svedberg, Al-Ammari; Granath, Granath, Mohammed
We say: Elfsborg 2-1 Halmstads BK
Elfsborg have been rock-solid at home this season and will be backing themselves to find their feet on Friday. Thelin's men are currently on a dominant run against Halmstads and we are tipping them to come away with all three points in front of their home supporters.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
