Fresh off the back of a disappointing outing in the Europa Conference League qualifiers, Hammarby play host to IFK Norrkoping in round 17 of the Swedish Allsbenskan on Sunday.
Glen Riddersholm's men journey to the Tele2 Arena where they have lost each of their three visits since July 2021 and will head into the weekend looking to end this poor run.
Match preview
Hammarby's dreams of securing European football for the first time since 2007 suffered a blow on Thursday when they fell to a 1-0 loss against Dutch side FC Twente in the first leg of the second qualifying round.
In a one-sided affair at the De Grolsch Veste, 21-year-old midfielder Sem Steijn broke the deadlock eight minutes after the half-time break to hand the hosts a deserved victory.
This was a second consecutive defeat for Hammarby, who saw their run of two successive league wins come to an end on July 21 courtesy of a 1-0 loss at Brommapojkarna.
However, Marti Cifuentes's men now return home, where they are on a run of three consecutive wins across all competitions, scoring nine goals and conceding three since May's 2-0 loss against Varnamo.
Hammarby are also unbeaten in six of their seven league matches on home turf and currently boasts the division's fifth-best home record, having picked up 16 points from seven matches.
With 22 points from 17 matches, the Johanneshov-based outfit are currently ninth in the Allsvenskan standings, level on points with Mjallby and Brommapojkarna.
Norrkoping, on the other hand, picked up successive wins for the first time since May as they saw off Degerfors 1-0 when the sides squared off at Nya Parken last Sunday.
Veteran midfielder Maic Sema grabbed the headlines as he struck in the second minute of stoppage time to hand the visitors their 11th league defeat of the season.
Prior to that, Riddersholm's side snapped their run of seven straight games without a win in all competitions when they beat Mjallby 2-1 at the Strandvallen on July 16 courtesy of a brace from Arnor Traustason.
Norrkoping have now won seven of their 16 matches while claiming four draws and losing five to collect 25 points and sit fifth in the league table, level on points with Kalmar and Halmstads.
While this weekend's visitors will be looking to make it three wins on the bounce, they have failed to win their last four visits to the Tele2 Arena, losing three and claiming one draw since a 1-0 victory in November 2020.
However, Norrkoping are currently on a fine run of form away on the road, where they are unbeaten in five of their last six matches, claiming three wins and two draws since the start of May.
Team News
Hammarby remain without the midfield duo of Abdelrahman Boudah and Bubacarr Trawally, who are currently recuperating from foot and knee injuries respectively.
They are joined on the club's injury table by former Iceland defender Jon Gudni Fjoluson, who continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines through an ACL injury.
Swedish midfielder Dennis Collander has been out of action since last July through a severe knee problem and will also play no part in this weekend's game.
Norrkoping will be without club captain Christoffer Nyman, who is suspended for one game after crossing the yellow card threshold with his booking in last Sunday's game against Degerfors.
In his absence, Iceland Under-21 striker Andri Gudjohnsen should come into the XI, forming the front three with Laorent Shabani and Midtjylland loanee Victor Lind, who has four goals and one assist in the league.
On the injury front, Riddersholm will be unable to call upon the services of defender Jean Carlos de Brito, who has been ruled out through an ACL injury.
Hammarby possible starting lineup:
Dovin; Karlsson, Kurtulus, Pinas, Strand; Besara, Demirol, Hammar; Nilsson, Erabi, Djukanovic
IFK Norrkoping possible starting lineup:
Jansson; Eid, Eriksson, Lund, Baggesen; Traustason, Hammershoj-Mistrati, Ortmark; Shabani, Gudjohnsen, Lind
We say: Hammarby 2-2 IFK Norrkoping
The last six meetings between the sides have produced a combined 22 goals and we anticipate another end-to-end contest at the Tele2 Arena. While Norrkoping are the more in-form side, Hammarby have lost just one home game in the league this season and we predict that they will hold out for a share of the spoils.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
