Brondby will play host to Vejle at the Brondby Stadion in matchday two of the Danish Superliga on Monday, with both teams seeking their first victory of the season.
The hosts narrowly missed out on the title last year, finishing one point behind champions FC Midtjylland, while the visitors secured their survival with a third-place finish in the post-split relegation group.
Match preview
After winning the title in 2020-21, Brondby were unable to get near the trophy in the following two campaigns, finishing fourth in 2021-22 and fifth in 2022-23.
The boys from Vestegnen finally mounted a challenge for the Superliga title last season, going toe-to-toe with Midtjylland, FC Kobenhavn and FC Nordsjaelland, but they ultimately fell short as the Wolves came out on top, beating Brondby by a single point.
Jesper Sorensen, who has been in charge since January 2023, would have been hoping for a strong pre-season to build upon as they once again go in search of the league title, but Brondby managed just one win and suffered two losses in their four friendlies, falling short of expectations.
The boys from Vestegnen failed to deliver once again in their Danish Superliga opener, managing only a dramatic 3-3 draw against Viborg FF, with goals coming in the 92nd minute to equalise, falling behind again in the 96th, and then levelling the score in the 98th minute during a chaotic added time.
Sorensen's men did produce a convincing win in their Europa Conference League second qualification round first leg against KF Llapi during midweek, securing a commanding 6-0 victory to take into the second leg, a result that should boost their confidence heading into their next matches.
Their opponents, Vejle, enter this game having secured their place in the top flight for a second consecutive season last year, climbing from a second-to-last finish in the regular season to third place in the relegation playoffs.
A key factor in Vejle's post-split success was striker German Onugkha, who scored eight times in nine relegation playoff matches to end the season with 15 goals, and he has continued his strong form into the new term with two goals in the opening fixture last week.
Despite his two goals, Ivan Prelec's side were unable to take any points away from that match against Randers FC, conceding in the 92nd minute to lose the game 3-2 after initially equalising in the 87th minute.
Prelec will now be aiming to secure Vejle's first victory of the year against Brondby, but they have not won a competitive meeting between the two since 2009, although they did beat the hosts 2-0 in a friendly late last month.
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Team News
The hosts are set to remain without the services of four players for this game as Frederik Ibsen, Kevin Mensah, Marko Divkovic and Nicolai Vallys continue their stay on the sidelines.
Following a resounding 6-0 victory over Llapi, Sørensen might opt to name the same starting eleven for this match, with all three forward players - Ohi Omoijuanfo, Filip Bundgaard and Yuito Suzuki - particularly likely to start after each scored in that game.
As for the visitors, Marius Elvius is set to remain absent as he serves a suspension following a straight red card in the final fixture of the last campaign.
Thomas Gundelund is also expected to be unavailable for this one as the midfielder continues his recovery from an injury he sustained at the end of the past season, leaving Luka Hujber likely to start in his place.
Brondby possible starting lineup:
Pentz; Klaiber, Lauritsen, Rasmussen; Sebulonsen, Wass, Nartey, Bischoff; Suzuki, Bundgaard; Omoijuanfo
Vejle possible starting lineup:
Vekic; Kolinger, Velkov, Provstgaard; Hujber, Barry, Hetemi, Albornoz; Juwara, Onugkha, Emmanouilidis
We say: Brondby 2-1 Vejle
While Brondby have faced difficulties in recent fixtures, a 6-0 win in their last outing should give them plenty of confidence coming into this one, and we expect the hosts to pick up their first three points of the 2024-25 campaign.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
