Hammarby – Haecken

The third Allsvenskan team will play better than their opponents in Stockholm

In the context of a shortened round 24, with the Europa League matches of Malmo and Elfsborg postponed indefinitely, the match between Hammarby and Hecken is the centrepiece. The guests will arrive in the capital in a bad mood. Firstly, the year before last year's champion was the earliest to crash out of European football tournaments. Secondly, on Sunday the team received four unanswered goals from the reigning champion. Hammarby, unlike their opponents, are extremely motivated from a tournament point of view. The capital city club is third in a tight group of teams vying for European Cup positions. For Hammarby return to the Conference League is the main goal, so the mood for the opponent from Gothenburg will be maximum. Bookmakers have identified the hosts as the favourites for the upcoming meeting, offering odds of 2.14 on their victory. Hammarby have been considered the third favourite to win the Allsvenskan for the last few months. However, with Malmö rushing towards another title, the capital club can only hope to hold on to their European Cup position. Hammarby now have a nine-match losing streak, so they are well worthy of winning the second or third final places. In mid-July, the club lost at home to "lame" Gothenburg, which none of its fans have ever understood. A few days ago, Hammarby travelled to Buros, where as an underdog they made peace with Elfsborg. Hecken has been playing very poorly lately. Back in June and July, the Wasps were in a good tone and achieving results on various football fronts, but since August's defeat to Heidenheim in the Conference League playoff round, the team from Gothenburg has been in a slump. In the last five rounds of the Allsvenskan, Hecken have not won once. The Wasps drew three games against the league's mid-table sides and lost the matches against the leaders. First, Djurgården beat Hecken in Gothenburg 2-1, then Malmo gave the Wasps a 4-0 home defeat. Hecken haven't beaten Hammarby in Stockholm since 2017. With the current playing form, it won't happen on Thursday either.