Both aiming to maintain their unbeaten statuses at the beginning of the campaign, Nordsjaelland and FC Midtjylland will clash at Right to Dream Park in the Danish Superliga on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers were the biggest winners of the opening weekend on home soil, whilst the Wolves have been busy domestically and on the continent over the past week.
Match preview
![Thomas Thomasberg of FC Midtjylland during a 3F Superliga match against Aarhus GF at Ceres Park Aarhus Ceres Park Denmark, July 19 [on July 21]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/29/thomas-thomasberg_1.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Thomas Thomasberg of FC Midtjylland during a 3F Superliga match against Aarhus GF at Ceres Park Aarhus Ceres Park Denmark, July 19 [on July 21]")
© Imago
Following back-to-back defeats at the conclusion of their pre-season schedule to Eredivisie duo AZ Alkmaar and FC Twente, Nordsjaelland turned on the style when it mattered most last Friday night, smashing three goals past newly-promoted Aalborg BK in the opening game of the 2024-25 Danish Superliga campaign.
The Tigers roared into a two-goal lead after just 20 minutes of the contest at a sold-out Right to Dream Park courtesy of strikes from summer arrival Peter Ankersen and Marcus Ingvartsen, before 21-year-old Mads Hansen arrived off the bench to net a third for the hosts in the 88th minute.
Recording their biggest victory since the 4-1 beating of Silkeborg on May 12, Nordsjaelland claimed the title of very early pacesetters at the summit of the Superliga standings, sitting ahead of Copenhagen, Randers and the aforementioned Silkeborg thanks to superior goal difference.
Returning to the club following spells in Belgium and Germany, Ingvartsen will be hoping to replicate the form that saw him net a sensational tally of 23 goals in 35 top-flight matches for the Tigers during the 2016-17 term, one which he was one of the top players in the division.
Last week's routine success over Aalborg represented a perfect start to life in the Nordsjaelland managerial hotseat for 49-year-old Jens Olsen, who is navigating his first-ever spell as a Superliga head coach following employment with second-tier Nykobing FC and Denmark Under-19s.
After winning the Superliga for the fourth time in their history during the 2023-24 campaign - with all of those Danish crowns arriving over the past decade - Midtjylland proudly took to the Champions League stage on Tuesday night, travelling to Andorra to face UE Santa Coloma.
The Wolves' progression into the third round of qualification is all but wrapped up following the first leg at Estadio Nacional, where goals from Fraculino, Ousmane Diao and youngster Aral Simsir fired the visitors to a 3-0 win, giving the Andorran minnows little hope of completing a second-leg comeback next week.
Despite finishing top of the pile in the Superliga last term, Midtjylland are showing no signs of complacency so far during 2024-25, especially in the transfer market, with Poland international Adam Buksa joining earlier in July, fresh from a 16-goal campaign at Antalyaspor in the Turkish Super Lig.
That being said, the Wolves did not enjoy a perfect start to their defence of the Danish crown even though new striker Buksa managed to find the net in their opening Superliga fixture versus Aarhus, with Tobias Bech's eighth-minute strike meaning that the two sides shared the spoils.
Winning 32 of his 56 matches in charge of Saturday's visitors since taking the reins in March 2023, Thomas Thomasberg is a fans' favourite at MCH Arena and will be looking to guide Midtjylland towards back-to-back Superliga titles for the first time in the club's history.
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Team News
![Kristoffer Askildsen, Franculino and Aral Simsir of FC Midtjylland during a 3F Superliga match against Aarhus GF at Ceres Park Aarhus Ceres Park Denmark, July 19 [on July 21, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/29/kristoffer-askildsen-franculino-and-aral-simsir.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Kristoffer Askildsen, Franculino and Aral Simsir of FC Midtjylland during a 3F Superliga match against Aarhus GF at Ceres Park Aarhus Ceres Park Denmark, July 19 [on July 21, 2024]")
© Imago
After keeping a clean sheet in their first match of the season last week, Nordsjaelland are fully expected to stick with a centre-back pairing of Kian Hansen and Lucas Hey.
Goalscoring Mads Hansen could be in line for a promotion from the bench, with 19-year-old Conrad Harder potentially making way as a result.
Midtjylland are without the services of a key attacking force during the opening stages of this season, with Gue-Sung Cho still recovering from a knee injury sustained in June.
As well as the 12-goal South Korean, the Wolves are also unable to call upon the services of Brazilian winger Marrony, who has spent 10 months sidelined due to a serious knee issue.
Ola Brynhildsen missed his side's Champions League success on Tuesday because of illness, and the striker is not expected back in the squad this weekend.
Nordsjaelland possible starting lineup:
A Hansen; Ankersen, K Hansen, Hey, Villadsen; Dorgeles, Tverskov, Svensson; Ingvartsen, Antman, Harder
FC Midtjylland possible starting lineup:
Olafsson; Andersson, Diao, Bech, Bak; Sorensen, Castillo, Simsir, Romer, Fraculino; Buksa
We say: Nordsjaelland 1-1 FC Midtjylland
Nordsjaelland were exceptional last weekend against Aalborg at Right to Dream Park, but the visit of the Danish champions represents a significant increase in quality of opposition.
Although Midtjylland's midweek jaunt to Andorra was hardly challenging on the pitch, the mental impact of a third away match in the space of a week could prevent the Wolves from picking up three points in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
