Arguably the pick of the matchday 16 fixtures in the Allsvenskan will see Djurgardens IF take on the league leaders Elfsborg in a crucial match at Tele2 Arena on Saturday.
At the halfway point of the season, the hosts are currently in fourth place and just outside the Europa Conference League qualifier places, while the visitors saw their lead over the chasing pack trimmed to a single point after dropping points last time out.
Match preview
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Last season, Djurgarden finished second in the league standings, six points behind Hacken, and they head into the second half of this season with the same deficit between themselves and the current league leaders this term.
However, last weekend's 2-0 win over Malmo was a massive one, as they managed to close the gap between themselves and their opponents on the day to four points, while they also made up ground on Elfsborg, who dropped points to IFK Goteborg.
Oskar Fallenius and Haris Radetinac got on the scoresheet on the day, and Kim Bergstrand's side put on an excellent display in defence in the second half as their opponents dominated possession but only managed three shots on target.
With that win, Djurgarden are now on a four-match winning streak and are unbeaten in their last nine league games, which included seven wins and six clean sheets in that time.
They have the best home record of any side in the league, with eight wins and a draw in nine games at Tele2 Arena, while they also possess the best defensive record of just four goals conceded to date.
Djurgarden are unbeaten in their last three encounters against this opposition, winning once and drawing the other two, with the most recent being a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture at the start of last month.
After ending two seasons outside the Europa Conference League qualification spots, Elfsborg got this season off to a very promising start, but they have not been able to extend their lead as much as they would have hoped.
A costly 1-1 draw against relegation candidates IFK Goteborg last week, combined with Hacken's 4-2 win over IF Brommapojkama, means they are now just one point above the reigning champions.
Per Frick scored the equaliser just before the break in the last match, but despite piling on the pressure in the second half and firing 15 shots at goal, Elfsborg were unable to find the back of the net for a second time.
Jimmy Thelin's side were done a huge favour by Djurgarden last week by beating Malmo, who are also right in the thick of it, currently third, and they would have taken the lead in the league standings had they managed a win.
While their opponents are unbeaten at home this season, Elfsborg are the only side in the league that have not lost a match on the road this term, sporting an excellent record of one draw and six consecutive wins coming into this one.
Not only are these sides putting their respective unbeaten home and away records on the line here, but we will also see the highest-scoring away side try to break down the lowest-conceding home side, which will be an intriguing contest on its own.
Team News
Besard Sabovic's yellow card off the bench in the last match was his fifth of the season; therefore, he will have to serve his one-match suspension here.
Elliot Kack is still suffering from a knee injury and will not be in the squad until the end of the month, while Noel Milleskog will be hoping for a start here after an eye-catching cameo in the final 15 minutes of the last match.
The major concern for Thelin will be the absence of the ever-present Gustaf Lagerbielke in defence after he was shown his fifth caution of the season against IFK Goteborg last week.
Frick will likely start after his goal in the last match, while Gustav Henriksson should fill in for Lagerbielke, who will join long-term absentee Viktor Widell on the bench.
Djurgardens IF possible starting lineup:
Zetterstrom; Johansson, Lofgren, Danielson, Kaib; Finndell, Berg, Schuller; Radetinac, Milleskog, Fallenius
Elfsborg possible starting lineup:
Valdimarsson; Larsson, Holmen, Henriksson, Hult; Qasem, Baidoo, Romer; Okkels, Gudjohnsen, Bernhardsson
We say: Djurgardens IF 2-1 Elfsborg
Based on their recent records, there really is very little to choose between these two. However, we are going with a home win for two key reasons. The first reason is that the hosts won this fixture well last term.
The second is based on looking at the results this season, where Elfsborg's only loss came at the hands of Hacken back in April, while Djurgarden beat Hacken on their home ground at the end of last month.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Devesh Jaganath
