Sports Mole previews Sunday’s Norwegian Eliteserien clash between Kristiansund and Sarpsborg 08, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Two teams fighting toward the bottom of the Norwegian Eliteserien will meet on Sunday as Sarpsborg 08 travels to play Kristiansund.
The visitors currently sit in the relegation zone, but a victory this weekend would see them leapfrog their opponents.
Match preview
Kristiansund heads into this weekend on the back of a 2-1 loss in midweek, which was a particularly frustrating result for Amund Skiri as his team conceded in the 99th minute via a penalty.
It proved to be a harsh lesson in concentrating until the end of a game, while it was a big point dropped in the grand scheme of the league table.
While it might be early days in the Norwegian Eliteserien, Kristiansund currently sits just above the relegation zone which is placing pressure on everyone involved with the club.
Currently only goal difference is keeping them out of the bottom two, and considering a defeat in this fixture would lead to Sarpsborg overtaking them, it is not a fixture they can afford to take lightly.
Unfortunately for Kristiansund, momentum is not on their side as it has been eight games across all competitions since they last won, which is a run of form they must change sooner rather than later.
The visitors are going through an equally difficult start to the campaign which is why they sit 15th in the table currently, having only won three of their opening 10 fixtures.
Their most recent win was an impressive 4-1 victory over Molde, but Sarpsborg were not able to follow that up with another positive result in midweek.
Stefan Billborn‘s men suffered a 3-1 loss against Stromsgodset, with Peter Reinhardsen‘s goal proving to be nothing more than a consolation in the grand scheme of things.
Despite their early season struggles, Sarpsborg have been stronger away from home as they have picked up two wins and a draw from their five matches so far.
One problem that Billborn needs to tackle is the defensive side of the game, as no team has conceded more goals in the division at this stage of the campaign, which is an obvious weakness.
Kristiansund Norwegian Eliteserien form:
Sarpsborg 08 Norwegian Eliteserien form:
Team News
Max Norman Williamsen remains on the sidelines for the foreseeable future for the hosts due to a ligament injury that is set to see him miss the majority of the year.
Marius Olsen was unable to overcome an ankle issue to play in midweek, and that is expected to be the case until the end of June.
Reinhardsen will be hoping he did enough off the bench in midweek to earn a place in the starting lineup this time for the visitors after he found the back of the net in their 3-1 loss.
Lars Christopher Vilsvik missed out on Sarpsborg’s most recent outing after suffering an injury in the previous match, and question marks surround him once again.
Kristiansund possible starting lineup:
Lansing; Sjatil, Jarl, Ulvestad, Rakneberg; Alte, Bruseth, Isaksen; Gueye, Sivertsen, Mikaelsson
Sarpsborg 08 possible starting lineup:
Ilic; Wichne, Odegaard, Casas, Hiim; Andersen, Sher; Chrupalla, Johansen, Orjasaeter; Meister
We say: Kristiansund 2-1 Sarpsborg 08
Both teams head into this fixture low on confidence and momentum, and each will likely see this as a fixture to potentially change their fortunes.
The poor defensive record of Sarpsborg could be the difference in this one though, with Kristiansund likely to exploit that.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.