Tenth-placed Hammarby trail sixth-placed Kalmar by three points in the Swedish Allsvenskan table ahead of their showdown at the Tele2 Arena on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts claimed a 2-1 victory over Sirius last time out, while the visitors suffered a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of high-flying Elfsborg.
Match preview
Hammarby will be hoping that last weekend's triumph against Sirius can spark a sense of consistency at Tele2 Arena, as goals from Jusef Erabi and Fredrik Hammar secured a much-needed win for the Stockholm outfit.
Although Hammarby have won two of their last three matches, they have produced a wildly inconsistent campaign up to now, recording five wins, four draws and six losses in the league.
It is also worth noting that Marti Cifuentes's men endured a run of one victory in eight Allsvenskan matches between late April and early June, recording four draws and three defeats in that time.
That said, Hammarby have won four of their six home league games this season, suffering a solitary defeat in the process, so the club from the capital will be hopeful of picking up another positive result on home soil this weekend.
As for Kalmar, they carried a five-game unbeaten run into last weekend's meeting with Elfsborg, having chalked up three wins and two draws, but their hot streak came crashing down at Guldfageln Arena.
Elfsborg took the lead in the 30th minute before Kalmar goalkeeper Ricardo Friedrich was sent off on the stroke of half time, with substitute stopper Jakob Kindberg conceding three goals after the break to cap a miserable day for the hosts.
When you look at the bigger picture, however, the Roda Broder have lost just four of their 14 Allsvenskan clashes this year, claiming six wins and four draws along the way.
That said, Kalmar have struggled for consistency on the road throughout 2023, recording two wins, three draws and two losses across their seven away games, so they will be eager to avoid defeat on Sunday.
Team News
Hammarby are still without long-term injury absentees Jon Gudni Fjoluson (ACL) and Dennis Collander (knee), who have both remained on the sidelines this year.
Nahir Besara has bagged four goals and five assists in the league this term, so he will likely join Loret Sadiku and Fredrik Hammar in a three-man midfield, with Viktor Dukanovic and Montader Madjed supporting Jusef Erabi in attack.
Kalmar goalkeeper Ricardo Friedrich is suspended after receiving a red card last time out, meaning that Jakob Kindberg will deputise between the sticks, while Rasmus Sjostedt and Elias Olsson will continue at centre-back.
At the opposite end of the pitch, Deniz Hummet, Mileta Rajovic and Noah Shamoun are expected to occupy the forward line in a 4-3-3 formation, with 37-year-old Brazilian veteran Romario operating in midfield.
Hammarby possible starting lineup:
Dovin; Karlsson, Kurtulus, Pinas, Kralj; Besara, Sadiku, Hammar; Madjed, Erabi, Dukanovic
Kalmar possible starting lineup:
Kindberg; Lindahl, Sjostedt, Olsson, Olafsson; Romario, Karlsson, Skrabb; Hummet, Rajovic, Shamoun
We say: Hammarby 1-1 Kalmar
Sunday's showdown looks destined to be a close-fought battle between two inconsistent teams, so we can see Hammarby and Kalmar producing a low-scoring draw at the Tele2 Arena.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Morris
