Sirius take on Mjallby AIF at the Studenternas IP on Sunday evening, in the latest round of Allsvenskan fixtures.
The hosts are currently sitting in 11th place, and they could leapfrog the visitors in the table with a victory this weekend, as they are two points behind the ninth-placed side.
Match preview
Sirius are performing roughly how they would have been expected to so far this season, given that they finished 11th in the 2022 campaign, having acquired 17 points from their opening 15 games.
At the halfway stage of the campaign, the Blue-Black are four points clear of the bottom three, so they are not currently in any real danger of being relegated, but they are showing no signs of being able to compete near the top end of the table.
It is only a recent uptick in form that has dragged Christer Mattiasson's side out of the relegation mix, having won four of their last six league games, keeping three clean sheets in the process.
Last time out, Sirius picked up an impressive 3-0 victory away at Degerfors, and they are now tasked with following that up at home this weekend, however they do not have the best of records against the visitors.
Indeed, Mjallby AIF have got the better of the Blue-Black in the vast majority of their recent meetings, winning the last four games between the two sides, including the reverse fixture earlier this season, in which they ran out 3-0 winners at Strandvallen.
However, Mjallby have not been able to score more than two goals in any other competitive game this season, and they have a very poor record in front of goal, scoring just 13 goals in their first 15 league games, the joint-second lowest amount in the division.
Magnus Emeus's side have been impressive defensively, however, having conceded only 16 goals so far this term, the fewest of any team outside of the top three, and for that reason they have not been dragged into the relegation battle.
MAIF are currently six points clear of the bottom three, having been on a solid, if not spectacular, recent run of form, recording an impressive victory away at third-placed Malmo FF, while also defeating IFK Goteborg 1-0 on the road.
In their last match, however, Mjallby put in a very poor display against Norrkoping, losing 2-1 at Strandvallen after failing to create enough clear-cut opportunities, and a much-improved performance will be needed this weekend.
Team News
Sirius still have a number of players on the treatment table, with long-term absentees Patrik Karlsson, David Mitov Nilsson, Andreas Murbeck and Filip Olsson all expected to miss out once again.
Fresh off the back of an impressive 3-0 victory, Mattiasson is unlikely to make any changes to his side, with Joakim Persson and Wessam Abou Ali set to start in attack, in what is likely to be a 4-4-2 system.
Mjallby AIF also have several players out injured, with Jesper Adolfsson, Love Bjornson, Silas Nwankwo and Alexander Johansson all unavailable for selection.
Johansson's absence could be a big blow for Emeus, as he scored a brace in his last outing before picking up an injury, but David Lofquist is expected to get the nod, having scored his first goal of the season in the victory at Malmo FF.
Sirius possible starting lineup:
Tannander; Voelkerling, Nwadike, Castegren, Widgren; Matthews, Roche, Stensson, Heier; Abou Ali, Persson
Mjallby AIF possible starting lineup:
Tornqvist; Eile, Rosler, Pettersson; Stahl, Gustafson, Gustavsson, Brorsson, Stroud; Fenger, Moro
We say: Sirius 0-0 Mjallby AIF
Games involving Mjallby AIF are very rarely high-scoring affairs, given their stellar defensive record, and the two teams are very evenly-matched based on their respective positions in the table.
As such, we expect Mjallby and Sirus to cancel each other out this weekend, in what could be a stalemate.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Dominic Lund
