Two teams with relatively underwhelming starts to the 2024 Norwegian Eliteserien campaign face off on Sunday as FK Haugesund welcome Sandefjord to the Haugesund Stadion.
Both sides came away empty-handed from their most recent outings and will be seeking to get themselves back to winning ways this weekend.
Match preview
Haugesund were on the receiving end of a comprehensive 2-0 defeat against Stromsgodset in Monday's encounter at the Marienlyst Stadion.
Oskar Hrafn Thorvaldsson's men fell behind to Anders Baertelsen's own goal on the stroke of half time, after which Elias Melkersen made sure of the result eight minutes into the second period.
Consequently, De Maakene have dropped down to 11th place in the Norwegian Eliteserien table, albeit outside the top half only on goal difference.
Next up is the challenge of an opposing outfit with little separating the sides over the last seven meetings, which have yielded two wins apiece and three draws.
Fresh from snapping a four-game home losing streak, Sunday's hosts now go in search of consecutive wins in front of their fans for the first time since February.
Sandefjord suffered a second defeat in a row as they fell well short of the threat of Viking FK at the Sandefjord Arena on Monday afternoon.
Hans Erik Odegaard's men made a poor start to the contest and were punished inside six minutes thanks to Zlatko Tripic, after which Lars-Jorgen Salvesen and Simen Kvia-Egeskog sealed the deal.
Having picked up seven points from eight matches so far, De Hvalfanger sit bottom but one in the standings, three points adrift of safety with a game in hand.
Currently on a run of four defeats and a draw from their last five away involvements, Sunday's visitors have struggled on the road of late and will need to turn things around.
Team News
Filip Loftesnes-Bjune is still unavailable for Sandefjord through a knee injury, while midfielder Marcus Melchior continues to nurse an ankle problem.
This weekend's visitors will also be without the services of Darrell Tibell, who has missed each of the last seven matches with a muscle problem.
Amund Wichne is Haugesund's only guaranteed absentee for this one as the goalkeeper continues his spell on the sidelines with a shoulder injury.
Tunisian Sebastian Tounekti has been directly involved in two of his side's last three goals and will be looking to deliver the goods once again.
FK Haugesund possible starting lineup:
Selvik; Krusnell, Fredriksen, Baertelsen, Niyukuri; Eskesen, Leite; Tounekti, Konradsen, Sauer; Diarra
Sandefjord possible starting lineup:
Keto; Pedersen, Berglie, Kristiansen, Cheng; Mettler, Ottosson, Amin; Dunsby, Tveter, Markovic
We say: FK Haugesund 1-0 Sandefjord
Both Haugesund and Sandefjord have struggled at the top end of the pitch this term, and we are anticipating a low-scoring affair this weekend. That said, we also fancy the hosts to get the job done, albeit by only a narrow margin.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Adepoju Marvellous
