Two teams towards the bottom of the Norwegian Eliteserien come together on Sunday afternoon when Odd host Lillestrom at the Skagerak Arena.
The home side are currently in the relegation playoff spot after 10 games played, while the visitors are a point better off in 12th place with just nine matches under their belt.
Match preview
After finishing fifth in 2022 Odd have failed to hit the same heights since, finishing in 10th in 2023 and experiencing a poor start to this campaign that has them in 14th place having played a game more than those around them.
Two wins and a draw in their first four league matches made for a promising start, but Odd have since failed to pick up a victory with four losses and two draws in the following six outings.
Kenneth Dokken's side have only scored in one of those six league fixtures, netting three times in a 3-3 draw with fifth-placed Viking FK, while they have conceded a massive 15 in that time, resulting in Odd having the worst defensive and second-worst attacking record of any side in the division thus far.
While Odd do hold the home advantage going into this encounter with Lillestrom, they have failed to win in any of their last five games in their own ground.
Their upcoming opponents have also had a surprisingly difficult start to the campaign, failing to produce the same level of performance that has seen them finish fourth twice and sixth once in the three seasons since being promoted into the division in 2021.
They have had an extremely inconsistent opening nine fixtures with three wins and five losses, with their most recent outing seeing them lose 3-0 at home to a Fredrikstad FK side that are in the division for the first time since 2012.
Lillestrom have had the better of this fixture in recent years, losing one and winning four of the last six meetings between the two in the league with the remaining match ending in a 4-4 draw.
Sunday's visitors have particularly enjoyed their trips to the Skagerak Arena in the past seasons with victories in all of their last three visits.
Team News
Both sides are carrying plenty of injuries coming into this tie with up to five players set to be unavailable for each club.
The hosts will be unable to call upon the services of Leon Hien, Sondre Johansen, Steffen Hagen, Torgeir Borven and Zakaria Mugeese, with all five expected to be sidelined until June at the earliest.
After failing to score in five of their last six league outings, Odd may look to line up with the team that netted three against Viking in April.
As for the visitors, they will also be without Elias Solberg, Henrik Skogvold, Martin Roseth and Mathis Bolly until at least June.
Lars Ranger is set to be missing for the remainder of the season after suffering a cruciate ligament injury in March.
Odd possible starting lineup:
Hansen; Ruud, Owusu, Ivancevic, Baccay; Jorgensen, Hussain, Svendsen; Bang-Kittilsen, Tewelde, Njie
Lillestrom possible starting lineup:
Christiansen; Charles, Gabrielsen, Garnas, Tonnessen; Ibrahimaj, Lundemo; Karlin, Asen, Va; Olsen
We say: Odd 0-2 Lillestrom
While neither side have started the season in great form, Odd's failure to score in recent matches compared to Lillestrom, who scored four in their last away game, leads us to believe the away team will win this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
