Viborg FF and Aalborg BK bring round four of the Danish Superliga to an end when they go head to head at the Energi Viborg Arena on Monday.
This will be the second meeting between the two sides in the last month, with Renato Junior and Anosike Ementa both scoring twice to hand the Greens a 4-1 victory in their pre-season friendly on July 13.
Match preview
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Viborg continue to struggle for results in the new Superliga campaign as they suffered a 3-2 defeat against Silkeborg when the two sides squared off at JYSK Park last Sunday.
Trailing by three goals at half time, Daniel Anyembe and Jeppe Gronning scored in a five-minute spell to help the visitors reduce the deficit, but Silkeborg held firm in the final 30 minutes to see off a comeback scare and secure their second win of the campaign.
Jacob Poulsen's men have now failed to win any of their opening three games to start the season, having played out a thrilling 3-3 draw with Brondby in the opening game on July 21, one week before suffering a 3-1 loss at Randers.
The Greens' stuttering start has been a far cry from their promising performances in pre-season, where they picked up three wins from their four warm-up games, including a 4-1 victory over Monday's hosts on July 13.
Viborg have come into the new season off the back of a somewhat disappointing 2023-24 campaign as they picked up just 23 points from their 22 matches to end the regular season in the bottom half of the table before finishing second in the relegation group.
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Aalborg, on the other hand, secured promotion to the Danish top flight at the first time of asking as they cruised to a second-placed finish in the First Division promotion round table last season.
Having gone down in the 2022-23 campaign, Menno Van Dam's men secured top spot in the regular season to book their place in the promotion round, where they finished second with 65 points from 32 games, 16 points above third-placed Kolding.
Aalborg have had a slow start to life in the big leagues as they have lost two of their opening three games, with a 2-1 victory over 10-man Silkeborg on July 28 sandwiched between the two defeats.
The Reds' two losses have come on their travels as they thrashed 3-0 by Nordsjaelland in the season curtain-raiser at Farum Park on July 19 and fell to a 2-0 defeat against defending champions Midtjylland at MCH Arena last Saturday.
While Aalborg will be looking to find their feet, they now go up against a Viborg side who have won six of their last seven encounters between the teams since October 2021.
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Team News
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Viborg will take to the pitch without the duo of 20-year-old Martin Agnarsson and Danish midfielder Mads Sondergaard, who are currently recuperating from injuries.
Oliver Bundgaard was forced off with a hamstring injury in the fifth minute against Randers on July 28 and the 23-year-old defender is also out of contention for the hosts.
Barring any late fitness issues, Aalborg will head into Monday's clash with a clean bill of health and no suspension concerns, giving Van Dam the luxury of a full-strength squad at his disposal.
Despite the result against Midtjylland, the 41-year-old could name a similar starting XI at the Viborg Stadion, with Kasper Jorgensen, Oumar Diakhite, Sebastian Otoa and Atli Arnorsson forming the back four.
Malthe Hojholt, who has started all three games, should retain his role at the heart of the park, while we expect an unchanged front three of John Iredale, Andres Jasson and skipper Mathias Jorgensen, who netted nine goals in the 1st Division last season.
Viborg FF possible starting lineup:
Lund; Anyembe, Zaletel,, Radic, Kuzmic; Westergaard, Gronning, Jacobs; Vester, Junior, Jensen
Aalborg BK possible starting lineup:
Muller; Jorgensen, Diakhite, Otoa, Arnorsson; Widell, Hojholt, Jimenez; Jorgensen, Iredale, Jasson
We say: Viborg FF 2-1 Aalborg BK
Viborg have stumbled into the new season and will be aiming to secure their first win of the campaign on Monday. Given their recent record against Aalborg, and the gulf in quality between the two sides, we are backing the Greens to come away with all three points in front of their home supporters.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
