Hammarby Fotboll are set to host IK Sirius at Tele2 Arena on Sunday in Sweden's Allsvenskan.
Sixth-placed Hammarby have 15 points and are three ahead of 11th-placed Sirius, but with 20 games left to play both sides could yet climb higher in the table.
Match preview
The home side have had a mixed league campaign so far, winning and losing five times while also scoring 15 goals and conceding on 15 occasions.
The club are averaging 1.5 points per game and at this current trajectory they will end the season on 45 points, just one more than last term's tally of 44.
However, it should be noted that while Hammarby are already trailing league leaders Malmo by 10 points, they are only three behind third-placed GAIS, who occupy the division's final Europa Conference League qualification spot.
As such, though manager Kim Hellberg might have hoped for a more consistent start to the season, he will be pleased that his side are still in contention for European football, especially after they failed to qualify in 2023.
Hellberg took over the Swedish club in 2024 after an impressive spell at IFK Varnamo, where he managed to guide them to a fifth-placed finish last season, two places above Hammarby.
The hosts' home form has been impressive this season, with the club winning four of their five matches at Tele2 Arena, including a 2-1 win last Sunday against AIK.
Visitors Sirius can perhaps expect a tough encounter this weekend, especially considering that their away record in recent seasons has been poor.
In fact, since the start of the 2021 campaign they have won only 13 of 50 league matches on the road.
It is worthwhile to mention that Sirius did take 13 points from a possible 15 in away Allsvenskan fixtures between the end of last season and the start of this one, but that run was an outlier rather than the norm, as evidenced by the fact that the club have failed to win three of their five away league games this term.
Manager Christer Mattiasson is embarking on his second full season with the club, and in his first he was able to guide his team to an eighth-placed finish with their highest points tally since promotion to the top flight in 2017.
Considering Mattiasson's good work last campaign, he will naturally be disappointed that his side have so far been unable to make progress given that they are currently 11th in the Allsvenskan table.
Sirius began this season with two successive victories, but that was followed by a run of four losses in five.
Mattiasson's side have also drawn their previous two games and are only two points above 15th-placed Kalmar, who occupy the last of the two automatic relegation spots.
With two-thirds of the season still left to play, Sunday's clash against Hammarby is not a must-win fixture, but if Sirius have any ambition of closing the six-point gap to the Europa Conference League positions, then a positive result would be highly beneficial.
Team News
The hosts are expected to be without centre-back Frederik Winther until December this year due to a knee injury that he sustained in early April.
Elsewhere, forward Jusef Erabi will also be absent due to a knee issue picked up in late April, although he should return to action in June, while midfielder Fredrik Hammar will miss out as a result of accumulating too many yellow cards.
Forward Viktor Dukanovic could also miss the game due to an ankle injury, but he is not yet ruled out.
As for Sirius, they will have to contend with the absence of midfielder Daniel Stensson following his concussion, while Tobias Carlsson continues to be sidelined as a consequence of a head injury.
Forward Joakim Persson is likely to be out until June as he recovers from his knee injury.
Leo Walta has collected enough yellow cards to earn a suspension, so he too will miss out on this weekend's match.
Hammarby possible starting lineup:
Dovin; Skoglund, Kurtulus, Vagic, Pinas; Karlsson, Tekie; Schellhas, Besara, Toure; Gul
Sirius possible starting lineup:
Nilsson; Murbeck, Castegren, Jeng, Widgren; Wikman, Olsson; Sjogrell, Heier, Milleskog; Salech
We say: Hammarby 2-1 Sirius
Hammarby's home form has been strong this season, and though they could have been more consistent this term, they will hope to secure back-to-back wins.
Additionally, given Sirius' difficulties on the road, it is fair to say that they could once again struggle on Sunday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Lewis Nolan
