Aiming to bounce back from their recent Norwegian Football Cup elimination, SK Brann return to the Brann Stadion to host Stromsgodset in Sunday's Eliteserien showdown.
Eirik Horneland's side bowed out of Norway's premier knockout tournament with a 3-2 loss to Valerenga Fotball in midweek, while their visitors thrashed Sarpsborg 08 5-2 in their most recent league battle.
Match preview
Clinching their seventh Norwegian Cup title in 2022, Brann's defence of their domestic crown came to a bitter end on Wednesday, as fellow top-tier side Valerenga edged a five-goal thriller to book their spot in the semi-finals and ensure the imminent crowning of a new champion.
Horneland's side were in dreamland after just six minutes as Japhet Sery Larsen and Bard Finne propelled the holders into a two-goal lead early doors, but Seedy Jatta reduced the deficit on the 13-minute mark before a second-half double from Mohamed Ofkir completed a stunning turnaround.
Thore Pedersen's late red card rubbed salt into the wounds for Brann, who are now only fighting for glory on the Eliteserien front for the remainder of the calendar year, but they have re-acclimatised to life back in the big time since their unthinkable relegation in 2021.
Sealing both the Norwegian Cup crown and second-tier title in an unconventional 2022 campaign, Brann are back where they belong at the top end of the Norwegian Eliteserien - currently fourth in the table and just two points off a potential Europa Conference League qualifying berth.
However, Horneland's men have experienced a downturn in Eliteserien fortunes too - winning just one of their last four matches in the top flight - but they are one of only two sides yet to lose on home turf this year, the other being table-topping Bodo/Glimt.
Having been sent packing in the Norwegian Football Cup by Molde towards the end of last month, Stromsgodset have been given licence to continue their stellar streak of Eliteserien form and made it four wins on the bounce in emphatic fashion last Saturday.
The visit of Sarpsborg to the Marienlyst Stadion proved to be a truly humbling experience for Stefan Billborn's side, who initially pegged Stromsgodset back on two occasions inside the opening 20 minutes, as Victor Torp and Joachim Soltvedt cancelled out Jonatan Braut Brunes's brace.
However, Gustav Valsvik restored Stromsgodset's advantage with a quarter of the game gone - by which point Sarpsborg had depleted their goalscoring reserves - and Jorgen Isnes's side added another pair of strikes in the second half from Halldor Stenevik and Ole Enersen to remove any lingering doubt.
From winning just two of their first nine matches of the 2023 Eliteserien season to prevailing in each of their last four, Stromsgodset - who have often found themselves in the lower echelons of the table in recent years - have settled into seventh place, which would mark their best finish since 2017, although there is plenty of Nordic football still left to be played.
Isnes's side travel to Brann aiming to make the net ripple for the 10th top-flight game running, but Stromsgodset have gone winless in six visits to their hosts' headquarters since a 1-0 victory in July 2014, when a 15-year-old wonderkid called Martin Odegaard appeared as a substitute.
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Team News
Brann will be forced into a defensive alteration following the sending-off of right-back Pedersen against Valerenga; the 26-year-old will serve his suspension here following his side's elimination from the cup.
Horneland could be facing a quandary on that side after Svenn Crone also missed Wednesday's beating, so Eivind Fauske Helland may be brought in as a makeshift full-back at the weekend.
Veteran defender Ruben Kristiansen and midfielder Ulrik Mathisen are also recuperating from physical glitches, but Aune Heggebo has returned from a two-month layoff to bolster the hosts' attacking ranks.
Meanwhile, Stromsgodset winger Jostein Ekeland has spent five weeks on the sidelines with an unspecified problem and may miss out again, while Nigerian midfielder Jack Ipalibo has left the club as a free agent.
Centre-back Fredrik Kristensen Dahl also lasted just 40 minutes last weekend before being withdrawn, and while it is unclear if the 24-year-old is nursing anything serious, Sondre Fosnaess Hanssen is ready to be called upon if required.
SK Brann possible starting lineup:
Dyngeland; Helland, Larsen, Knudsen, Torsvik; Myhre, Nilsen, Borsting; Blomberg, Finne, Castro
Stromsgodset possible starting lineup:
Myhra; Valsvik, Hanssen, Leifsson; Vilsvik, Stengel, Danso, Grogaard; Mehnert, Brunes, Stenevik
We say: SK Brann 2-2 Stromsgodset
A Stromsgodset unit with a taste for goals should no doubt trouble a permeable Brann backline, especially with the hosts damaged both physically and psychologically from their recent cup exertions.
However, Horneland's men are seldom outfought on their own patch, and while Stromsgodset have the firepower necessary to snap that streak, we have faith in Brann to fight back and rescue a point in front of the home crowd.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
