Gameweek 10 in the Swedish Allsvenskan will see Djurgardens IF taking on Halmstads BK at the Tele2 Arena in Stockholm on Monday evening.
The hosts have got off to a brisk start in the 2024 league campaign, currently in second place in the league standings while the visitors are four points behind them in sixth place.
Match preview
After missing out on European qualification last season, Djurgardens look determined to avoid the same fate this term and enter this matchday with 17 points to their name after nine games, trailing league leaders Malmo by five points.
The Blue Stripes are carrying solid momentum into this match following a commanding 5-0 win over Brommapojkama last week, which was their fourth league win in a row. The side also maintained clean sheets in each of those victories while scoring 10 goals themselves.
Deniz Hummet headlined the occasion, scoring a hat-trick, while Tobias Gulliksen and Tokmac Nguen also got their names on the scoresheet. Hummet is now joint-second in the top-scorer standings with five goals, one behind Malmo's Isaac Thelin and Sirius attacker Yousef Salech.
In addition, 18-year-old Lucas Bergvall, who will be heading to Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur during the English summer, notched an assist in the victory. The highly-rated teenager has now scored four goals and provided an assist in 15 games across all competitions in 2024.
Kim Bergstrand's side have taken 10 points from a possible 15 (W3 D1 L1) on their home patch this season and beat this opponent 1-0 at this venue when the sides met in league competition last term.
Meanwhile, after safely navigating their first season back in the top flight, Halmstads have made a positive start to the 2024 campaign, currently on 15 points after the first nine games and trailing third-placed Mjallby by just two.
Following back-to-back defeats against Kalmar and Mjallby, HBK bounced back to winning ways in fine style last week, pulling off an against-the-odds 3-0 victory over fourth-placed Hacken at Orjans Vall.
Gabriel Wallentin gave his side the lead midway through the first half, before Naeem Mohammed doubled their advantage moments before the break. Villiam Granath scored the third of the afternoon shortly after the interval to secure the team's fifth win of the season.
However, despite their promising start to the season, Magnus Haglund will know that in order to remain in their lofty league position, his side will have to improve in defence, having already shipped 15 goals, which is the second most of any side in the top half of the standings at present.
Team News
Marcus Danielson will miss this game due to a muscle injury and is likely to remain sidelined for at least another few weeks. Rasmus Schuller is ruled out of this clash due to an unknown injury.
Samuel Holm was withdrawn at halftime in the side's demolition of Brommapojkarna last week, and reports suggest that he could be confined to the treatment room for the next three to four weeks.
Halmstads are also missing a couple of first-team players for this match, including Marcus Olsson and Andreas Johansson, who are recovering from a muscle and leg injury, respectively.
After scoring last week, Mohammed is now the team's top-scorer with four this term and should keep his place in attack alongside brothers Villiam and Viktor Granath.
Djurgardens IF possible starting lineup:
Zetterstrom; Johansson, Tenho, Larsson, Dahl; Ekdal, Sabovic; Gulliksen, Bergvall, Fallenius; Hummet
Halmstads BK possible starting lineup:
Erlandsson; Ofosu-Ayeh, Wallentin, Baffo; Nogueira, Ammari, Eyjolfsson, Svedberg; Vi Granath, Mohammed, V Granath
We say: Djurgardens IF 2-1 Halmstads BK
While both sides have made solid starts to the 2024 league season, Djurgardens have all the momentum at the moment and will still be buzzing after their incredible win last week. Halmstads will not make it easy here, but we fancy the hosts to secure a fifth straight victory in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
