Viborg FF must defeat Danish Superliga leaders Copenhagen on Monday in order to keep their hopes of winning the title alive.
With only two games of the campaign remaining, Copenhagen lead Viborg by five points in the table, with Nordsjaelland sandwiched in between them, siting one point behind the league leaders.
Match preview
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Having only been promoted from Denmark's second tier two seasons ago, Viborg's surprise outside title push represents a remarkable achievement for Jacob Friis's side regardless of what ensues in their final two matches of the season.
The Greens qualified for Europe for only the second time in their history by reaching the Europa Conference League this season, although after making their way through two qualifying rounds, their journey was cut short at the playoff stage with a 6-1 defeat to eventual finalists West Ham United.
Domestically, Viborg are on course for one of their greatest ever seasons, with only AGF Aarhus able to deny them from bettering their most recent fourth-placed finishes in 2000 and 2006.
However, with fixtures against the top two sides in the division still to come, there is a huge amount of variance potentially at play. Friis's side could find themselves travelling to Nordsjaelland on the final day still in with a chance of winning their first ever Superliga title, or they may end up falling outside of the top three positions altogether.
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Copenhagen, on the other hand, are in familiar territory having lifted 14 Danish Superliga titles since their maiden triumph 30 years ago.
Byens Hold have also finished as runners-up on seven occasions during that timeframe, so they are more than used to competing at the business end of the season, while their recent Danish Cup success saw them move level with Aarhus as joint-record nine-time winners of that competition.
Having endured something of a recent wobble by only collecting one point from three matches, Jacob Neestrup have bounced back to register back-to-back league victories either side of defeating Aalborg BK in the Danish Cup final, ensuring that their destiny remains in their own hands heading into their final two fixtures.
With a home match against out of sorts Randers on the final matchday of the season, Neestrup and his players will know that if they can return from Viborg with all three points on Monday, they will have taken a huge step towards securing the club's 15th league title.
Team News
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Viborg will remain without Zan Zaletal, who is sidelined for the rest of the season with a serious injury, while Nils Mortimer, Martin Agnarsson and Mads Lauritsen are all doubts.
Renato Junior could return to lead the offensive line after only being used from the bench during his side's 1-1 draw against Brondby, but otherwise Friis is unlikely to make any alterations at such a crucial stage of the campaign.
Copenhagen, meanwhile, appear set to travel without David Khocholava, Nicolai Boilesen and Zeca due to injuries, while Andreas Cornelius and Akinkunmi Amoo are both unlikely to start due to knocks.
After coming from 3-2 down to secure a dramatic 4-3 win against Aarhus last weekend, Neestrup may look to build on that momentum by selecting the same starting XI.
Viborg FF possible starting lineup:
Pedersen; Gaaei, Burgy, Anyembe, Bundgaard; Jensen, Gronning, Leemans; Said, Junior, Achouri
Copenhagen possible starting lineup:
Grabara; Diks, Vavro, Lund; Jelert, Falk, Clem, Johannesson, Sorensen; Larsson, Goncalves
We say: Viborg FF 1-3 Copenhagen
Viborg have already enjoyed one of their most successful ever seasons, but Copenhagen appear to be hitting the straps at the business end of the season, making them heavy favourites to retain their Danish Superliga title.
Although we expect Viborg to give them one hell of a test on Monday, we believe Copenhagen have the individual quality and collective experience to pull through in the end.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Brett Curtis
