Two Scandinavian giants meet on matchday five of the Europa Conference League as Molde of Norway host Djurgardens IF of Sweden at the Aker Stadion.
Both sides are in commanding positions to secure qualification to the knockout stages, with the winner of this tie likely to finish top of the group and advance directly to the last 16 of this year's competition.
Match preview
Molde are on a mission to regain their title as Norway's top side after the emergence of Bodo/Glimt in the Eliteserien and the Europa League over the past two years.
Domestically, Molde are cruising towards a first league title since 2019 having established a commanding 15-point gap between them and the chasing pack in Norway's top flight.
In the Europa Conference League Erling Moe's men sit second in Group F, having collected seven points from their opening four outings in the competition.
Their only loss so far - and in fact their only loss in all competitions since August - came against Thursday's opponents in a dramatic 3-2 win for Djurgarden on matchday two, so returning the favour this time around would be a real statement and show improvement heading into the final round of fixtures a week later.
A defensive solidity characterises Molde in Europe to this point, with the team recording clean sheets in three of their four group matches so far and being unbreached in front of their home fans in the competition.
Despite an emphatic 4-0 win over bottom side GIF Sundsvall in the Swedish league on Monday night, Djurgarden look set to miss out on a first Allsvenskan title since 2019 as Hacken maintained their six-point gap at the top with only two games remaining.
The standings in the Europa Conference League however are more favourable for Djurgarden, who sit top of Group F having picked up an impressive 10 points from the first four matchdays.
The Swedish side were 4-0 up against Belgian giants Gent inside 50 minutes last time out and managed to hold out to collect all three points, a result that extended the gap to six points between them and the non-qualification places in the group.
Kim Bergstrand knows that at least a point in this one would see his men through to the next stages of the competition with a game to spare, a big achievement for a club that finished fourth and outside the European places in their domestic league just two years ago.
Team News
Molde have a number of players unavailable for the visit of Djurgardens on Thursday night, with Bjorn Sigurdarson and Kristoffer Haraldseid both out with knee injuries until the start of November at the very earliest.
Eirik Ulland Andersen is a long-term absentee for Molde after suffering a cruciate ligament injury in May and will not feature in any of his side's remaining group stage fixtures.
Defender Hjalmar Ekdal sustained a muscle injury early on in Djurgarden's last Conference League fixture against Gent, and is unavailable for the trip to Norway.
Elliot Kack will be keeping Ekdal company in the medical room, a place the 33-year-old has been since picking up a knee injury against Mjallby in April.
Molde possible starting lineup:
Karlstrom; Bjornbak, Haugan, Risa; Eriksen, Kaasa, Mannsverk, Breivik, Lovik; Fofana, Brynhildsen
Djurgardens IF possible starting lineup:
Vasyutin; Johansson, Danielson, Lofgren, Andersson; Banda, Sabovic, Eriksson; Asoro, Holmberg, Wikheim
We say: Molde 1-1 Djurgardens IF
Two sides with the best defensive records in their respective domestic leagues meet on Thursday night so we are not expecting a massive amount of goals in what is likely to be a cagey affair.
Molde have scored 11 goals in their last four home fixtures in all competitions, but group leaders Djurgarden will be the biggest test of the Norwegians' credentials to date.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
