Goteborg will play host to Elfsborg on Monday, July 5 at Gamla Ullevi, in the first head-to-head meeting between these two Allsvenskan sides on the season. Goteborg and Elfsborg last met in September 2020, when they parted ways with a 0-0 stalemate.
Goteborg vs Elfsborg
When: Monday, July 5 – 19:00 CEST
Where: Gamla Ullevi in Göteborg, Sweden
Weather: Thunderstorms, 18°C
Referee: Kaspar Sjöberg (SWE)
The 13-time Allsvenskan champions, Goteborg, haven’t had much success over the years in the domestic competition, and this season seems to be no different. Although they aren’t losing games, Goteborg draw way too many of their fixtures, as they are on six draws from eight games.
The hosts will look to break that spell and claim all three points tonight, as they face the current no.7 team in Allsvenskan, Elfsborg, who enter the match off a massive 1-0 victory against Norrkoping.
Goteborg Are At Least Not Losing
Although you can’t complain that your team is not losing, it’s hard to be overly excited about Goteborg and their showings. They are 1-6-1 on the season and enter this match with a streak of five consecutive draws.
During that stretch, Goteborg drew with Halmstad (1-1), Hacken (1-1), Kalmar (0-0), Sirius (2-2), and Djurgarden (0-0). Although claiming only five points from five games isn’t great, you have to give some praise for forcing a draw against the league’s no.2 Djurgarden.
Looking back at Goteborg’s match with Djurgarden, the result is only impressive on paper. The hosts were the better team and arguably should have claimed all three points, but they were somewhat unfortunate not to convert at least one of their 11 chances.
In a bid to improve this season, Goteborg signed former Sarpsborg coach and 2009 Allsvanskan champion Mikael Stahre at the start of June. The team further strengthened their squad by acquiring Oscar Wendt and Marcus Berg; however, it might take a while longer before the experienced players gel together.
Goteborg will miss three players for today’s bout, including Simon Thern, Robin Soder, and Patrik Karlsson Lagemyr. The latter two have already missed most of the 2021 fixtures, whereas Thern remains out with an injury he picked up in May.
Elfsborg Look Solid On The Road
Elfsborg are 4-1-4 on the season and 2-1-2 in their last five. That stretch includes a draw with Kalmar (2-2), followed by two losses against Halmstad (2-3) and Malmo FF (1-2), and two wins against Sirius (2-0) and Norrkoping (1-0).
Elfsborg last met with Goteborg in September 2020, when the teams parted ways with a 0-0 draw. Before that, they met in July in a cup game, where Goteborg came away with a 1-0 win, thanks to a 98′ goal and Elfsborg’s missed penalty. Their only previous meeting of 2020 happened in June when Elfsborg won 1-0 as visitors.
Jimmy Thelin’s men will enter this match as underdogs, which seems a bit off. Although they are by no means one of the top teams in the league, the visitors are coming off a fairly impressive victory against Norrkoping.
They’re also 2-0-2 on the road, with wins against Varbergs (3-1) and Sirius (2-0). Their only two away losses came against the current league frontrunners Malmo FF (1-2) and the second-best home team AIK (0-1).
Unlike Goteborg, who will miss three players, Thelin will have a full squad available.
Goteborg vs Elfsborg Betting Picks
Elfsborg might have lost their last two away games – against Malmo FF (0-2) and Barbengs (0-1) – but those were friendlies, and we don’t see those results as an indication of Elfsborg’s lack of strength. With those two losses, Elfsborg are now 1-4 in their last five away games, albeit 3-2-5 in their last 10.
Looking back to last season, Elfsborg were the best away team in Allsvenskan with a 6-7-2 record and 22-18 goal difference. On the other side, Goteborg were the 13th-best home team with a 3-5-7 record and 15-24 goal difference.
Although home advantage is something to take into account, it doesn’t seem like playing at Gamla Ullevi is helping Goteborg too much. They’re 1-2-2 at home across their last five and 2-6-2 in their last 10, which includes five friendlies (1-3-1).
We like the visitors better. They were the best travellers of 2020, while their only two away defeats of the season came against the best and second-best home side in the league – Elfsborg DNB for some security.
Prediction: Elfsborg +0.00 Asian Handicap
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