Sirius will be looking to break into the top half of the Allsvenskan standings when they face off against new boys Vasteras SK at Studenternas IP on Monday evening.
The hosts have made a mixed start to the 2024 Swedish top-flight campaign and enter this match in 11th place in the league table, while the visitors are languishing at the bottom of the standings.
Match preview
Sirius made a very impressive start to the season, taking the maximum six points from their first two games, beating Halmstad 3-0 on opening day before downing Kalmar 2-1 on the road a week later.
However, things took a downturn for Blasvart after that, as they went five games in a row without a victory, including four defeats and a draw, before bouncing back against AIK a couple of weeks ago.
Last time out, Christer Mattiasson's side played out a 2-2 draw at home to Goteborg, but while they avoided defeat, it would likely have been a match they would feel they should have won, having largely dominated their opponents across the 90 and taking the lead on two occasions.
Still, despite their erratic performances, the one major positive for the side this term has been the form of their summer arrival Yousef Salech, who has hit the ground running in Allsvenskan.
The former Brondby man scored the second goal against Blavitt last week, marking his sixth goal since moving to Uppsala from the Superliga. He is currently the joint-top scorer in the league heading into gameweek 10, level with Malmo's Isaac Thelin.
Meanwhile, after securing promotion with an impressive 19 wins and six draws in 30 games last season, Vasteras have made about the worst start to life in the top flight as they could have imagined.
Only nine games in and Gronvitt have already suffered eight losses and are five points adrift at the bottom of the table, with the only points they have managed this term coming from an upset victory over high-flyers Mjallby at the end of last month.
Worryingly, the gap to guaranteed safety is already a daunting eight points, while they are seven points adrift of the relegation playoff place despite only being nine games into their campaign.
Kalle Karlsson's side suffered a 2-0 defeat last week at home to Varnamo, marking their fourth league loss on the bounce, and the third game in succession they failed to find the net.
To date, the side has only scored three goals in the league all season - all of which came in a four-day spell in late April - while they have drawn a blank in seven of their nine league matches.
The visitors are already in the unenviable position of needing a win here, but having lost all four games on the road this term and going up against an opponent with an in-form striker, their chances of managing one do not look particularly promising.
Team News
Defender Patrick Nwadike will be forced into a watching brief for the hosts in this match after crossing the yellow card threshold for the season last week against Goteborg.
Daniel Stensson is expected to remain sidelined until next month due to a knee injury, while Joakim Persson and Tobias Carlsson are out with head injuries, though both players are expected to return to action in the next couple of weeks.
Vasteras will have to make do without the services of Burundi international Frederic Nsabiyumva, who sustained a hamstring injury against Hammarby and has been ruled out of action until mid-June.
Ibrahim Diabate was left out of the starting lineup for last week's loss to Varnamo, and Karlsson may consider bringing the Ivorian back in from the start here, given his side's struggles in attack this season.
The forward is one of only three players to have found the back of the net for Vasteras this season, alongside Simon Gefvert and Henry Offia.
Sirius possible starting lineup:
Nilsson; Persson, Castegren, Jeng, Widgren; Walta, Wikman, Milleskog, Heier, Sjogrell; Salech
Vasteras SK possible starting lineup:
Brattberg; Magnusson, Marques, Douglas, Gefvert; Lindsay, Asalund, Larsson, Diabate; Ahlinvi
We say: Sirius 1-0 Vasteras SK
Vasteras have been very poor this season and already look likely to struggle to avoid relegation less than a third of the way through the campaign.
While Sirius have been far from impressive themselves, they have to be fancied at home against this opponent.
That said, despite Vasteras' dreadful record this season, they have at least so far avoided any big defeats - their largest being by a two-goal margin - so we feel the hosts will only claim a narrow victory in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
