Hammarby – Norrkoeping

The rivals will exchange goals amid fatigue on the home side of the pitch

Hammarby is far from being the most titled club in Sweden, but in the last six or seven years it has shown serious ambitions. At the end of last season, the team finished in third place and managed to win a place in the Conference League. On Thursday, Hammarby started in the second round of qualification for this tournament. In the Netherlands, the Swedish team faced Twente, who were the clear favourites for the duel. Despite a 0-1 defeat, Marty Sifuentes' men clearly made the most of the away game, as they failed to hit the Dutch club's goalposts even once. Participation in the Conference League, unfortunately, affected Hammarby's results in the championship. The team was so prepared for the start of the European football season that they lost to Brommapojkarna a few days before travelling to the Netherlands. This result did not really change the tournament situation for Hammarby, which clearly does not correspond to the ambitions of the capital team. Now it is in tenth place, having one more match played than the surrounding clubs. Last season, the guests of the upcoming match finished in twelfth position, repeating the worst result in the last ten years. During the off-season, the team strengthened with several serious players, including Icelandic national team players Arnor Sigurdsson and Andri Gudjohnsen, who transferred from CSKA Moscow and Real Madrid youth team respectively. An interesting transfer policy and high goals for the season have led Norrköping to the current fifth place in the Swedish league with three points ahead of their upcoming opponents. Since the third decade of May, the Blue and White have fallen into a real playing hole, having picked up a total of two points in the six rounds until mid-July. However, the past two league games allow us to state the end of the crisis in Norrköping's ranks. First, the team defeated Mjölby away and then snatched victory from Degerfors in the final minutes, which doubled the positive emotions of the team. The guests will arrive in the capital in a good mood, which will allow them to claim points and at least one goal. In turn, Hammarby will help to distinguish the factor of their field, which is quite important for this team.