Hammarby – Elfsborg

The championship leader, at least, will not lose in Stockholm

Stockholm Hammarby finished in third place at the end of last season and got a ticket to the Conference League. Preparation for the European arena, unfortunately, affected Hammarby's results in the championship. And the team from the capital failed to play well neither there nor there for the last month. First, Hammarby was preparing for the trip to Enschede, which resulted in a loss to Brommapojkarn. After the first match against Twente, the capital club rehabilitated themselves in the championship and slightly improved the tournament situation with a win over Norrköping, but immediately upset their fans again with a Eurocup exit. Hammarby approaches the meeting with the division leader as a mid-table side in a tight cluster of clubs. The capital club has the opportunity to concentrate on the Allsvenskan matches, but whether the players will be able to quickly gather themselves after the European Cup failure and find motivation for performances on the domestic arena. Bookmakers have chosen the guests from Buros as favourites for the upcoming meeting, offering odds of 2.24 on their victory. Elfsborg have been playing in Sweden's elite division for about two and a half decades, being one of its most experienced participants. Only once in the last 20 seasons have the Yellows finished outside the top ten Allsvenskan teams. The team started the current season with a defeat to the reigning champions, and then produced such a winning sequence that they eventually crushed leading Malmo and secured their place at the top of the standings at the second attempt. Elfsborg lost again to Hecken at the end of July, but to this day the champion is the only club to have picked up three points against the Yellows. Their other 16 matches have been either wins or draws. Of particular note are Elfsborg's two 4-0 away wins, which hurt two comparable teams to Hammarby - Kalmar and Djurgården. If the "yellows" play at least close to this level, they will be closer to victory. Actually, in the first round Elfsborg had no problems in the meeting with Hammarby, beating them 2-0. Let's bet in favour of the visitors.