Mjallby AIF's pursuit of Allsvenskan leaders Malmo will continue on Tuesday evening, when they head to struggling IFK Goteborg.
The visitors currently sit third in the table, seven points behind the pace-setters Malmo, while Goteborg sit 14th, with a tough start to the campaign seeing them pick up only eight points from nine matches.
Match preview
Goteborg boast a record of two wins, two draws and five defeats from their nine league matches this season, which has left them down in 14th spot in the table on eight points.
Jens Berthel Askou's side, who finished 13th in Sweden's top flight last season, will enter this match off the back of a 2-2 draw with Sirius, which followed successive defeats to GAIS and Malmo.
The Blue-Whites already have the worst home record in the division this term, having picked up just one point from their four matches in front of their own supporters.
Goteborg recorded a 1-0 victory over Mjallby when these two teams last locked horns in September 2023, and they have only lost one of their last eight league matches with Tuesday's opponents.
Askou's team will play twice more before the end of the month, following this contest with a clash against AIK Fotboll, before opening June with a home fixture against Elfsborg.
Mjallby, meanwhile, will enter the match off the back of a 3-0 victory over Hammarby, and they will bring a four-game unbeaten run into Tuesday's contest.
Indeed, Anders Torstensson's side have picked up 10 points from the last 12 available, also beating Kalmar and Halmstad, in addition to sharing the points with Brommapojkarna.
Mjallby have picked up 17 points from their nine league games this season courtesy of a record of five wins, two draws and two defeats, which has left them third in the table.
Torstensson's side are seven points behind the leaders Malmo, who have been excellent in the early stages of the campaign, while they are only two points from second-placed Djurgardens IF.
Mjallby have won two and drawn two of their four away matches this season, and they recorded a 1-0 victory in the corresponding fixture between the two sides last term.
Team News
Goteborg will be without the services of a number of first-team players for this match, with Laurs Skjellerup, Arbnor Mucolli, Anders Trondsen, Abundance Salaou, Hussein Carneil, Suleiman Abdullahi, Emil Salomonsson, Anders Kristiansen, Oscar Wendt and Pontus Dahlberg all on the sidelines.
Paulos Abraham is the team's leading goalscorer this season with four, and the 21-year-old will again feature in an advanced area, while there will also be a spot in the XI for Thomas Santos.
Oscar Pettersson has contributed one goal this term, meanwhile, and the 24-year-old is also expected to retain his spot in the starting side for this match.
As for Mjallby, Tom Pettersson remains unavailable for selection, but the visitors are otherwise in strong shape for the clash on Tuesday night.
Head coach Torstensson is again expected to line his team up in a 3-5-2 formation, with Jacob Bergstrom set to keep his spot in the final third of the field.
Bergstrom has scored four times in all competitions this term, and he is expected to be joined in an attacking area by Imam Jagne, who has netted twice in 12 appearances during the current season.
IFK Goteborg possible starting lineup:
Bishesari; Santos, Svensson, Carlen, Johansson; Yalcouye, Pyndt, Thordarson; Pettersson, Carlstrand, Abraham
Mjallby AIF possible starting lineup:
Tornqvist; Brorsson, Rosler, Stahl; Johansson, Gustafson, Gustavsson, Rojkjaer, Stroud; Jagne, Bergstrom
We say: IFK Goteborg 1-1 Mjallby AIF
Mjallby have only managed to win one of their last eight league matches against Goteborg, and we are expecting this to be a tight match, with the two teams potentially sharing the points on Tuesday night.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
