Molde will be looking to make it three away wins on the bounce on Friday when they visit Alfheim Stadion to face Tromso IL as action resumes in the Norwegian Eliteserien.
The Gutan find themselves languishing at the bottom end of the table after what has been a difficult first half of the season and will look to kick-start their turnaround this weekend.
Match preview
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Tromso returned to action after a three-week break last Friday as they secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory over 10-man Sarpsborg when the sides met at the Sarpsborg Stadion.
In a game where Arnau Casas received his marching orders, Henrik Wendel Meister scored in the 78th minute to cancel out Lasse Selvag Nordas 46th-minute opener, but Jakob Napoleon Romsaas struck in the fourth minute of stoppage time to hand the visitors the win.
Head coach Jorgen Vik will hope that last weekend's victory can serve as a catalyst for a fine run of form as they turn their attention to the Eliteserien, where they suffered a narrow 2-1 loss against Lillestrom in their last outing on June 2.
Prior to the Lillestrom defeat, Tromso were on a run of three back-to-back games without defeat in the league, picking up two wins and one draw while scoring six goals and keeping two clean sheets, and had won each of their previous three home matches.
The Gutan have lost seven of their 11 Eliteserien matches so far while claiming three wins and one draw to collect 10 points and sit 14th in the league table, just one point above rock-bottom Sandefjord.
Next up for Tromso is the stern challenge of taking on an opposing side who are unbeaten in 16 of their last 20 meetings, placing up 13 wins and three draws since April 2008.
Like this weekend's hosts, Molde were also in action last Friday when they eased to a 2-0 victory over Odd in a friendly matchup at Aker Stadion.
Mathias Fjortoft Lovik and experienced midfielder Kristian Eriksen scored first-half goals to put the hosts on the front foot before a reshuffled XI held firm in the second half to see out the victory.
Molde now return to action in the league, where they have struggled for consistency in recent weeks, claiming just three wins in their nine outings since picking up three victories on the bounce back in April.
The Blue Rascals' last outing in the Eliteserien came on June 2, when they fought back from behind to salvage a 2-2 draw against Viking courtesy of goals from Fredrik Gulbrandsen and Eriksen.
However, Molde have been rock-solid on their travels, as they head into the weekend unbeaten in six of their seven away matches across all competitions, claiming six wins and one draw since the start of April.
With 21 points from 12 matches, Erling Moe's are currently fourth in the Eliteserien standings, one point above fifth-placed Biking who have a game in hand, and six points adrift of league leaders Bodo/Glimt.
Team News
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Tromso will have to cope without the services of 26-year-old Vegard Erlien, who missed the game against Sarpsborg last weekend through a foot injury.
Nordas netted a brace to inspire Tromso to an emphatic 4-1 victory in their game against Molde back in October 2023 and the 22-year-old striker will be one to watch.
He should be joined in the Gutan's attack by strike partner Romsaas, while we expect a back three of Anders Jenssen, Tobias Guddal and former Lillestrom man Vetle Skjaervik.
Molde remain without several players down the spine of the teams as Kristoffer Haugen (thigh), Oliver Petersen (groin) and Veton Berisha (muscle) all continue their spells on the sidelines.
Gustav Nyheim has been out of action since coming off injured against Kristiansund in April and the 18-year-old forward is also out of contention for the Blue Rascals.
Tromso IL possible starting lineup:
Haugaard; Jenssen, Guddal, Skjaervik; Paintsil, Hjertoe-Dahl, Jenssen, Antonsen, Norheim; Romsaas, Nordas
Molde possible starting lineup:
McDermott; Oeyvann, Haugan, Amundsen; Linnes, Eriksen, Daehli, Breivik, Stenevik; Eikrem, Gulbrandsen
We say: Tromso IL 0-2 Molde
Looking at past meetings between the two sides, Molde head into the weekend as slight favourites and will be looking to return to league action on a positive note. While we expect Tromso to put up a fight, we predict that Moe's men will pick up where they left off against Odd and secure all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
