Malmoe – Djurgarden

In a match between equal opponents, the hosts will not have a decisive advantage in the score

Malmö started the current Swedish championship as the reigning champion of the country and its most decorated team. Naturally, the 'Sky Blues' were considered the main favourite for the new season. However, around the fourth or fifth rounds, it became clear that crowning Malmoe this season was premature. By the final third of the current Allsvenskan season, the tournament objectives of the reigning champions of Sweden had become significantly more grounded, and achieving winning results even in matches against outsiders is far from always possible. The fate of Djurgården this season has also been complicated. The capital team reached the semi-finals of the Conference League, where they faced Chelsea in the spring. Of course, it's quite difficult to focus on the national league under such conditions. As a result, for the last couple of months, Djurgården has desperately been trying to grab points in the championship, aiming to break into the TOP-3 of Allsvenskan, a position which allows participation in the qualifying round of the next edition of the Conference League. Djurgården is doing well, but there are very few rounds left in the season, and the gap to third place is still substantial. In this regard, the capital team pays no attention to the names of their opponents or the venues of the matches, setting a goal of earning three points everywhere. The match at the 'Eleda' stadium next Saturday will be no exception. Bookmakers have made the hosts the favourites for the upcoming encounter, offering odds of 1.83 for their victory. Malmö will face the same plight in the coming weeks that has adversely affected Djurgården's league position. The 'Sky Blues' will host a strong Ludogorets a few days after this match in the first round of the knockout phase of the Europa League. Following that, they will have away European matches as well. Moreover, Malmö's situation is already poor. The team occupies fifth place, trailing the nearest European competition spot by four points. The champions have not won any of their last three Allsvenskan matches, finishing each of them in a draw. Djurgården, on the other hand, is riding a positive wave. In the last eight rounds, the capital club has not lost once, despite facing almost the entire Swedish elite. Let's wager that the visitors will perform well on the field of the reigning champions.