Malmo will be hoping to reclaim the lead in the Allsvenskan table when they welcome mid-table opponents Halmstads BK to Eleda Stadium on Monday.
The hosts overcame Varnamo last week to bring a three-match winless run to an end, while the visitors found themselves on the wrong side of a 5-0 thumping by bottom club Varberg.
Match preview
© Reuters
After a difficult 2022 season, where they finished outside the top three for the first time since 2015, Malmo have shown major improvement this term and are right in the thick of a three-way battle for the league lead with IF Elfsborg and Hacken.
Following consecutive losses to Mjallby and Djurgarden, followed by a 0-0 draw against AIK, Malmo managed a much-needed 3-1 win over 10th-placed Varnamo last week to take them to 38 points after 17 matches.
A brace by Isaac Kiese Thelin on either side of Soren Rieks's goal saw them cut the lead to the league leaders to a single point after Hacken beat Elfsborg on the same day, while they also have a game in hand on the side directly above them.
At Eleda Stadium, Malmo have recorded seven wins, one draw and one loss in their nine league matches, scoring 25 while conceding just eight in that time, which ranks third among all sides in the league.
Malmo are unbeaten against this opponent in their last 20 encounters, dating all the way back to September 2008, and having managed a solid win in their last match, the hosts will be heavily backed to secure another three points in this one.
Meanwhile, after gaining promotion back to the top flight at the first time of asking, Halmstad will be fairly content with how the first half of the season has gone but will want to pull a little further away from the drop zone before the end of the campaign.
The visitors are currently in eighth place in the league with 25 points and have recorded seven wins, four draws and six losses in their 17 matches, leaving them eight points above the bottom three sides.
However, Magnus Haglund will likely be growing concerned as his side have won just one of their last five league matches, including a 5-0 loss to Varberg last week, who had only won one match all season up to that point.
Following three consecutive losses in their first three away matches of the season, Halmstad have been very good since and come into this fixture unbeaten in their last five games on the road, winning four and drawing one.
Still, this has been a fixture that they have struggled in, having failed to beat this opponent in a whopping 15 years, and based on their performance in their last match, they will likely struggle to get anything from this encounter.
Team News
Malmo will be without the services of left-back Gabriel Busanello, who picked up his fifth yellow card of the season against Varnamo last week and will serve his one-match suspension in this game.
Stefano Vecchia has been ruled out of selection with an illness, while Anton Tinnerholm (groin strain) and Anders Christiansen (heart condition) will be out for the foreseeable future with injuries.
In the opposite dugout, Haglund has a full squad at his disposal and may consider making a few changes after their poor performance last weekend.
Jack Cooper Love was handed his first start of the season against Varberg and could make way for Erik Ahlstrand to return to the attack, while Kazper Karlsson will be hoping for a first-11 spot after starting on the bench last week.
Malmo possible starting lineup:
Dahlin; Jansson, Cornelius, Nielsen; Ali, Pena, Lewicki, Rieks; Jorgensen, Thelin, Nanasi
Halmstads BK possible starting lineup:
Nilsson; Ofosu-Ayeh, Johansson, Baffo, Olsson; Svedberg, Al-Ammari, Mohammed, Karlsson; Granath, Ahlstrand
We say: Malmo 2-1 Halmstads BK
While Malmo are still some way from their absolute best, they possess more than enough quality in their ranks to secure a victory in this match. The hosts have not lost to this opponent in over a decade, and after managing an important win last week, we fancy they will go two wins in two matches in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Devesh Jaganath
