Both Halmstads BK and AIK Fotboll will be looking to bounce back from defeats in their last game when they come together at the Orjans Vall on Monday in the Swedish Allsvenskan.
The hosts sit ninth in the table, 10 points from third and five above relegation, while the visitors are just a point behind and sit in 11th with 17 points.
Match preview
Halmstad started their Allsvenskan campaign in fair form with four wins and two losses from their opening six games, leaving them in second on matchday six.
However, since then, a downturn in form has seen them pick up just six points from the following seven league outings with two wins and five defeats, causing them to rapidly descend the table into ninth ahead of this game.
Those results leave the hosts as the only team remaining in the Allsvenskan yet to draw a match, but a point from this one would be a welcome result as they look to bounce back from a humiliating 5-1 defeat to league-leading Malmo FF last weekend.
Magnus Haglund's men have been at their best when playing in front of their home fans, taking 12 of their 18 total points from matches at the Orjans Vall, and they will be hoping to make the most of their home advantage once again in this one.
Their opponents AIK have had a similar story so far this term, starting the season in great fashion as they went unbeaten in their first five and found themselves in second place after seven fixtures.
Three consecutive defeats to IK Sirius, IF Elfsborg and Hammarby IF have seemingly derailed their campaign though with AIK managing just one win in their last eight matches, including two defeats in friendlies.
Former manager Henning Berg departed during this period after a disagreement with the club regarding the future of the team, leaving Henok Goitom with the challenging task of stabilizing the situation.
The visitors are the only team in the Allsvenskan yet to record a victory on their travels and they currently place as the worst team in the league when playing on the road, taking just two points from six games.
AIK have also struggled in this fixture in past years, failing to record a victory against Halmstad since a 1-0 home win in August 2021 and last winning at the Orjans Vall in 2017.
Team News
The hosts could be boosted by the return of Andreas Johansson into the backline after the defender made his first appearance off the bench last weekend since suffering a leg injury in the third match of the season.
Naeem Mohammed will be unavailable for the rest of the campaign after sustaining a cruciate ligament injury last weekend, while Gabriel Wallentin is also a doubt after being forced off in that game with an injury.
As for the visitors, Abdihakin Ali, Alexander Fesshaie Beraki and Martin Ellingsen are all expected to be unavailable for this one but could return to the team later this month.
Ioannis Pittas currently leads AIK's scoring charts with eight goals in 13 league matches, including scoring in all of his last four Allsvenskan appearances, and the striker is set to lead the line here.
Halmstads BK possible starting lineup:
Erlandsson; Ofosu-Ayeh, Johansson, Baffo, Nogueira; Eyjolfsson, Svedberg, Al-Ammari, Granath; Ingason, Turgott
AIK Fotboll possible starting lineup:
Nordfeldt; Hansen, Milosevic, Papagiannopoulos; Modesto, Besirovic, Dabo, Thychosen; Faraj, Pittas, Celina
We say: Halmstads BK 2-1 AIK Fotboll
Neither side are coming into this game in fantastic form, both facing their own difficulties in recent outings, but Halmstad have been at their best at home while AIK have been poor on the road, leading us to believe the hosts will win this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
