Preview: Varnamo vs. Hacken

Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Swedish Allsvenskan clash between Varnamo and Hacken, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Varnamo and Hacken will both be looking to bounce back from defeats when they face off at the Finnvedsvallen on Saturday.

The visitors will head into the weekend in fourth place, while the hosts occupy 12th position in the Allsvenskan table.

Match preview
© Imago

Varnamo are currently sitting four points above the bottom three after winning five, drawing two and losing seven of their 14 league matches this season.

Anes Mravac’s side have ultimately struggled for consistency in recent weeks, having seen their last five games produce two wins and three defeats.

They fell to a narrow 1-0 loss in their recent outing against Djurgardens, bringing a disappointing end to a run of three consecutive away victories.

Varnamo will now return to Finnvedsvallen, where they have collected just four points from seven matches, leaving them with the joint-worst home record in the division.

However, they can at least take confidence from the fact they claimed their first home win of the season in their previous home game against Goteborg earlier this month.

Having collected 23 points from 15 matches, Hacken are sitting in fourth spot and six points adrift of Mjallby in third position.

After taking one point from four games, Pal Arne Johansen’s side looked to have turned a corner when they clinched back-to-back wins over AIK and Vasteras.

However, they were brought down to earth in their most recent outing against Elfsborg despite taking the lead on three occasions.

Simon Gustafson, Valgeir Lunddal Fridriksson and Ali Youssef all get on the scoresheet to give Hacken a 3-2 lead, before Elfsborg staged a dramatic turnaround to score three goals from the 90th minute onwards.

After falling to a demoralising 5-3 defeat, Hacken will be desperate to bounce back in Saturday’s road trip, but their hopes of claiming a victory may be tempered by the fact they have experienced mixed results on the road, having won four, drawn one and lost three of their eight away league games this season.

Varnamo Swedish Allsvenskan form:

Hacken Swedish Allsvenskan form:

Team News
© Imago

Michael Steinwender, who joined Varnamo from TSV Hartberg this summer, is set to retain his place in the backline after he made his first start for his new club last weekend.

In fact, Mravac could opt for consistency and name an unchanged lineup despite seeing his side fall to a narrow defeat against Djurgardens.

Johnbosco Kalu will continue to offer one of Varnamo’s main goal threats, having scored six goals in his last seven appearances.

As for the visitors, they are unable to call upon the injured duo of Isak Brusberg and Nikola Zecevic, while Sigge Jansson is also a doubt for Saturday’s contest.

Gustafson will serve a one-match suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards, which could open the door for Pontus Dahbo to make his fourth start of the Allsvenkan season.

After scoring in three consecutive games, Yousef will be looking to continue his impressive form when he leads the line against Varnamo.

Varnamo possible starting lineup:
Rasheed; Larsson, Steinwender, Grozdanic, Bergh; Junior Adjei, Wenderson, Nasstrom, Zeljkovic; Kalu, Engvall

Hacken possible starting lineup:
Linde; Fridriksson, Hovland, Lode, Lundkvist; Rygaard, Amane, Dahbo; Layouni, Inoussa, Youssef

We say: Varnamo 1-2 Hacken
Hacken have won three of their previous four top-flight matches against Varnamo, and we think they will record another victory against a side that has lost five of their seven home games in the Allsvenkan this season.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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