Danish Superliga leaders FC Midtjylland will be bidding to take a huge step towards winning the title when they travel to fourth-placed Nordsjaelland on Monday night.
The visitors sit at the summit, two points ahead of second-placed Brondby with two games left, while Nordsjaelland are fourth and can still mathematically win the title this season.
Match preview
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Nordsjaelland won the Danish Superliga back in 2012, and as it stands, the team still have a mathematical chance of lifting the trophy this season, but a lot would have to happen for that to be the case.
Indeed, the Tigers, who finished second last season, are fourth in the table, boasting 56 points from their 30 matches courtesy of a record of 16 wins, eight draws and six defeats.
Johannes Thorup's side are five points behind the leaders Midtjylland with two games left, so they will need to win on Monday to stay in the title picture.
Nordsjaelland suffered a damaging 1-0 defeat to Brondby last time out, which proved to be their first loss in Denmark's top flight since the end of February.
The Tigers will finish the season against Copenhagen on May 26, and they must win their final two league games of the campaign and then see where that takes them.
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Midtjylland, meanwhile, are currently in pole position at the top of the table, and they will bring a three-game winning run into Monday's contest with Nordsjaelland.
The visitors have beaten Brondby, Aarhus and Copenhagen in their last three matches, with the results helping them to sit top of the table, picking up 61 points from their 30 league games.
Thomas Thomasberg's side are two points clear of second-placed Brondby and three ahead of third-placed Copenhagen, while as mentioned, Nordsjaelland are not out of the picture, so there is no playing down the importance of this particular contest.
The Wolves actually finished seventh in the Danish Superliga last season, but they have won the division on three occasions, with their last success coming in 2019-20.
Finishing at the top of the pile this season would see Midtjylland secure qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round in 2024-25.
Team News
Nordsjaelland will again be missing leading goalscorer Marcus Ingvartsen on Monday, while Benjamin Nygren is also unavailable for selection through injury.
Ingvartsen and Nygren have scored 25 times between them in all competitions this season, demonstrating the importance of their absence for the hosts on Monday night.
Andreas Schjelderup is the only other player to register double figures in terms of goals for the team this season, and the 19-year-old is available for selection here.
As for Midtjylland, Marrony, Kristoffer Olsson and Julius Voldby are again out due to injuries, while Henrik Dalsgaard and Cho Gue-sung will miss the match due to suspensions.
As a result, there will have to be at least two changes to the side that took to the field for the first whistle against Copenhagen last time out.
Adam Gabriel and Ola Brynhildsen are expected to be the two players to come into the XI, while there will be another start at centre-forward for leading goalscorer Franculino.
Nordsjaelland possible starting lineup:
Hansen; Villadsen, Nagalo, K Hansen, Frese; M Hansen, Tverskov, Svensson; Rasmussen, Osman, Schjelderup
FC Midtjylland possible starting lineup:
Fraisl; Gabriel, Ingason, Bech, Paulinho; Osorio, Martinez, Sorensen, Charles; Brynhildsen, Franculinho
We say: Nordsjaelland 1-2 FC Midtjylland
Gue-sung's absence is a blow for Midtjylland considering that he has scored 13 times this season, but the league leaders still have a lot of quality in the final third, and we are backing them to pick up a huge three points on Monday night.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
