Tied on 17 points in the top half of the Swedish Allsvenskan table, Hacken and AIK Fotboll will both bid to narrow the gap to the top three on Sunday, when they square off at the Bravida Arena.
The visitors returned to winning ways last time out to edge just ahead of their hosts, who have failed to pick up a victory in any of their last four attempts.
Match preview
Hacken return to Allsvenskan action on Sunday with the aim of ending a poor run of form in Sweden's top flight, having dropped to seventh spot and away from the top three as a result of a rut in recent weeks.
After winning the league title in 2022 and finishing third last time around, they enjoyed a fine start to the new term, amassing 16 points from their first eight outings courtesy of five victories alongside just two defeats.
Pal Arne Johansen's side have failed to build on that run since, though, adding just one more points to their tally in four further outings heading into the weekend, firstly seeing back-to-back triumphs halted by a 3-0 beating at the hands of Halmstads BK, before they were able to take a creditable share of the spoils from a 2-2 draw with leaders Malmo, thanks to Simon Gustafson's injury-time leveller from the penalty spot.
A trip to GAIS then followed last weekend, and the Getingarna suffered a disappointing 3-0 defeat in the jostle for position in the leading pack, before most recently dropping further as a result of a 2-1 defeat away at Mjallby in midweek, having failed to find a leveller after Valgeir Lunddal Fridriksson halved the deficit at the beginning of the second half.
Now sitting seventh in the Allsvenskan as a result of their sharp dip in form, four points behind third-placed GAIS having played a game more, Hacken will be desperate to stop their slide on Sunday and will bid to make a crucial return to winning ways and kickstart a climb back towards the frontrunners.
Their visitors, meanwhile, also head into the weekend with the aim of rejoining the leading pack, having moved ahead of the Getingarna in midweek, albeit only ahead on goals scored.
Like their hosts, AIK enjoyed a pleasing start to the campaign in Sweden's top flight, moving onto 14 points from seven outings with a 6-2 thrashing of Norrkoping in early May, following a heavy 5-0 beating of their own at the hands of Malmo, and Henning Berg's would go on to suffer a dip in form of their own in the following weeks.
Indeed, the Stockholm outfit quickly dropped into mid-table with three consecutive defeats in mid-May, conceding 11 goals along the way including a 6-1 thrashing away at Elfsborg, and after a 2-1 loss to Hammarby, they set out to bounce back and reverse their fortunes in a meeting with Goteborg on Monday.
That was also a high-scoring affair, and Berg's men trailed twice, drawing level through Omar Faraj and Anton Saletros, and they would eventually go ahead through a Gustav Svensson own goal 15 minutes from time before Dino Besirovic and Ioannis Pittas netted injury-time goals to wrap up a 5-2 triumph, albeit in a closer contest than the scoreline suggested.
Thanks to their return to winning ways, AIK now lead Hacken by the barest of margins on 17 points with a game in hand, and they will set out to build on Monday's result and put a run together with the chance to move within touching distance of the top three at the weekend.
Team News
Pal Arne Johansen may opt to make several changes to his Hacken starting XI from their midweek defeat to Mjallby, with youngsters Jeremy Agbonifo, Isak Brusberg and Nikola Zecevic remaining sidelined by injuries.
After settling for a substitute appearance in that game, Srdjan Hrstic may come back in and lead the line from the outset, having notched up eight goals across all competitions so far this season.
Mikkel Rygaard also dropped to the bench on Wednesday and should return to the midfield from the start, likely alongside Simon Gustafson, while Johan Hammar should again join Marius Lode and mainstay Even Hovland in a back three.
Henning Berg continues to deal with an extensive injury list in his AIK ranks, with Abdihakin Ali, Eskil Edh, Martin Ellingsen, Alexander Fesshaie, John Guidetti and captain Alexander Milosevic all set to remain confined to the treatment room.
He may field an unchanged starting XI from their resounding win over Goteborg last time out, although midfielder Ismaila Coulibaly will fight to come back in from the start after serving a suspension in that win.
Lamine Dabo joined Anton Saletros in Coulibaly's absence on Monday, and the pair could continue their partnership, while Omar Faraj and Ioannis Pittas are bound to again lead the line having both got on the scoresheet in the 5-2 victory, with the latter taking his tally to six Allsvenskan goals for the season in the process.
Hacken possible starting lineup:
Linde; Hammar, Hovland, Lode; Fridriksson, Gustafson, Rygaard, Laursen; Dahbo, Hrstic, Layouni
AIK Fotboll possible starting lineup:
Nordfeldt; Thychosen, Hansen, Papagiannopoulos, Bjornstrom; Modesto, Dabo, Saletros, Celina; Pittas, Faraj
We say: Hacken 0-2 AIK Fotboll
Of the two out-of-sorts teams, it was AIK who were able to correct their form in the last outing and bounce back to winning ways, while the hosts slipped further into a rut, and despite dealing with an unenviable list of absentees, we back the visitors' quality and renewed confidence to see them to another victory at the Bravida Arena.
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Sam Varley
