Elfsborg – Molde

The Swedish team will prove an advantage over their opponents in their own arena

The first match of the decisive duel for the right to participate in the main round of the Europa League ended with an unexpected result. Elfsborg travelled to Norway as an underdog, but quickly opened the scoring. In the 15th minute, the midfielder scored a goal, which remained the only one in the Scandinavian derby. According to the statistics of that confrontation, the teams played an equal match, which before the return leg leaves many questions about the future winner of the two-match confrontation. Bookmakers have identified the home team as the favourites for the upcoming encounter, offering odds of 2.21 on their victory. Elfsborg, unlike their opponents, have already passed three rounds of Europa League qualification. At the first stage, the Yellows defeated Paphos with a total score of 8:2, then beat Sheriff from Tiraspol twice and finally beat Rijeka with a total score of 3:1. After the first match against Moulde, the club hosted Gothenburg in Buros. Bookmakers offered Elfsborg as a low-key favourite due to the upcoming important match against the Norwegians. However, the "yellows" showed a clear advantage over their opponents, managing to methodically "dismantle" the opponent with a score of 3:1. We can conclude that Elfsborg are in good form and are rightly considered favourites for the return leg. The Norwegian representative paves his way in the Europa League qualification according to one scenario: a convincing victory at home - a minimal defeat away on goal difference. In the first round, Moulde overcame Silkeborg's resistance at home with a score of 3:1, and then in Denmark in a roughly equal struggle lost with a score of 2-3. At the last stage of the tournament, Serkl Bruges found themselves the underdogs against the Norwegians after the first half-hour of the first meeting. The Belgians conceded three goals from Moulde and could not do anything about it until the final whistle. A 1-0 home win in Bruges only brightened up the bitterness of the defeat. On the domestic scene, Moulde go fourth with a convincing lead over the reigning champions. On Sunday, it defeated HamKam by a score of 3-0. Let's bet that Elfsborg will confirm the advantage over their rival in their arena.