Preview: Kristiansund vs Start - prediction, team news, lineups

Saturday’s clash at Nordmore Stadium sees two sides struggling at the foot of the Eliteserien table go head-to-head as Kristiansund host Start in matchday 15’s opening fixture.

While the visitors prop up the Norwegian top-flight standings, the hosts, who have played a game fewer, sit directly above them, five points clear but below the safety line on goal difference.

Match preview

Since securing an immediate return to the Norwegian top flight at the start of 2024, Kristiansund have finished in the bottom half of the standings in consecutive seasons, and their current campaign has followed a similar pattern.

Amund Skiri’s side have managed just three victories from their opening 13 league fixtures this term (D3, L7) and are without a win in four Eliteserien matches (D1, L3) since beating Lillestrom 2-1 away from home on May 20.

In fact, the Owls’ only success across their last six outings came in one of their two mid-season friendlies, where they edged past Brann 2-1 after suffering a 3-0 defeat to Aalesund.

Although Kristiansund ended a three-match losing run in the Eliteserien with a goalless draw against Sarpsborg last weekend, the result further underlined their struggles in front of goal.

Indeed, the Owls have failed to score in six of their 13 league matches this season, while their tally of just 11 goals leaves Skiri’s team as the division’s worst attacking side.

Interestingly, all three of Kristiansund’s league victories this term have come in matches where they found the net at least twice, suggesting that another clinical display in the final third could be key to claiming maximum points this weekend.

However, it will not be lost on Skiri that his side are without a win in their last three top-flight matches at Nordmore Stadium (D2, L1), with only Aalesund (seven) and Start (six) collecting fewer home points than the Owls this term, though facing the division's worst travelling side should offer encouragement.

Indeed, visitors have collected just one point from their eight matches on the road in this season’s Eliteserien, conceding 23 goals, a figure that accounts for almost 70% of the league-high 33 they have shipped across all venues in 2026.

Start’s defensive frailties were once again exposed last weekend as they suffered a 3-0 home thrashing at the hands of Rosenborg, leaving Azar Karadas’s side with three successive losses in the top flight after earlier 2-1 setbacks at Fredrikstad and Brann.

Those away defeats came either side of a 4-0 hammering by Bodo/Glimt in a mid-season friendly, while Start’s 2-0 victory over Valerenga beforehand remains their only success from 14 Eliteserien fixtures this term, a run that also includes a league-high nine defeats.

Currently five points adrift of safety despite having played a game more than most of the teams around them, including 13th-placed KFUM Oslo and 14th-placed Aalesund, Karadas’s side are already in danger of an immediate return to the second tier following their promotion at the beginning of the campaign.

With the first half of the season drawing to a close, the visitors know that all three points would provide a timely boost to their survival hopes, although they are without a win in their previous three visits to Kristiansund, with the most recent ending in a 1-1 draw in the second tier in August 2023.

Kristiansund Norwegian Eliteserien form:

Start Norwegian Eliteserien form:

Team News

Kristiansund will once again be without attacker David Tufekcic as he continues to recover from the hamstring injury that has kept him sidelined since shortly before the 2026 Eliteserien season began.

Midfielders Tobias Svendsen and Max Williams returned from injury as unused substitutes last time out and are unlikely to start here, having yet to feature from the off in the league this campaign.

Leander Alvheim leads the team with five league goals this term, although the youngster has failed to score in his last two top-flight appearances after netting in three consecutive matches before the mid-season break.

Meanwhile, no Start player has scored more than Jesper Cornelius’s four league goals this season, although the forward is also looking to end a two-game drought after finding the net in consecutive outings before the hiatus.

As for the visitors’ injury concerns, Terry Benjamin (cruciate ligament), Johan Meyer (groin) and Kristoffer Tonnessen (leg) are all expected to remain unavailable.

Kristiansund possible starting lineup:

Saether; Munksgaard, Juliusson, Ulvestad, Flex; Bruseth, Igor, Skeide, Kilen; Alvheim, Isah

Start possible starting lineup:

Pryts; Toure, Reitan, Norheim, Husebo, Strannegard; Segberg, Mvoue, Ugland; Cornelius, Lorentzen

We say: Kristiansund 2-1 Start

Although Kristiansund have failed to score in both of their last two league matches, facing a fragile Start defence should provide the hosts with enough opportunities to net more than once and continue their pattern of victories.

Furthermore, the combination of the Owls’ mixed home record and the visitors' dreadful performances on the road points towards the hosts doing just enough to edge this contest.

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