Sports Mole previews Friday’s Norwegian Eliteserien clash between Odd and Kristiansund, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Odd will welcome Kristiansund to the Skagerak Arena on Friday in the Norwegian Eliteserien, hoping for a victory to extend their gap from the relegation zone.
The hosts aim to stretch their unbeaten run to four matches, but they face an opponent they have not defeated in the past five encounters.
Match preview
Odd endured a tough spell in early to mid-May, losing three league games in a row against Fredrikstad, Tromso, and Molde. However, Kenneth Dokken‘s men appeared to be finding some form before the break, going undefeated in three consecutive matches.
A goalless draw against KFUM, a 2-1 win over Lillestrom, and a 1-1 draw with Stromsgodset painted the picture of a team that was ready to leave their early season rut behind.
This run has helped Odd climb to 12th place in the Eliteserien table, accumulating 13 points from 12 matches played while sitting three points clear of the relegation zone.
Conceding 22 goals, making them the second-worst defence in the league, Odd’s biggest concern has been keeping the opposition at bay. However, Dokken will hope to build on the defensive improvements shown in the last three matches, where they conceded twice and kept one clean sheet.
Their next opponent, however, has a history of scoring against them. Kristiansund has found the net in their last eight meetings, and Odd have failed to win in the last five encounters, losing three and drawing the most recent two.
Odd have also struggled at home, with only one victory at the Skagerak Arena so far this season. However, that win came in their last home game, and they will hope to build momentum.
Newly-promoted Kristiansund endured a winless period between late April and late May, losing four and drawing three in their seven league matches.
However, they managed to break the rut at the beginning of June, defeating Sarpsborg 3-1, which propelled them to ninth in the table, three points above the drop zone.
Away trips have not been kind to Kristiansund, who have lost four of their six away matches, including the last three. Nevertheless, they have managed to score in four of those six games, highlighting the need for defensive improvement.
Despite conceding more goals than most teams in the league, Kristiansund boasts the most goals scored (17) amongst the bottom 11 teams.
Odd Norwegian Eliteserien form:
Kristiansund Norwegian Eliteserien form:
Team News
Odd will remain without midfielder Zakaria Mugeese who has missed a series of matches and is set to miss out once again here.
Torgeir Borven and Sondre Solholm Johansen are also sidelined with groin and ACL injuries respectively, with their return dates not confirmed.
Twenty-two-year-old defender Leon Hien is doubtful as he currently carries a foot injury, while Faniel Tewelde and Ole Erik Midtskogen.
As for the visitors, Marius Olsen is yet to recover from an ankle issue and that is expected to be the case until July.
Leading scorer Pape Gueye will be part of an attacking trio alongside Hilmir Mikaelsson and Oskar Sivertsen.
Odd possible starting lineup:
Hansen; Ruud, Owusu, Miettinen, Ivancevic, Baccay; Jorgensen, Svendsen, Ingebrigtsen; Tewelde, Midtskogen
Kristiansund possible starting lineup:
Lansing; Sjatil, Jarl, Ulvestad, Rakneberg; Alte, Bruseth, Isaksen; Gueye, Sivertsen, Mikaelsson
We say: Odd 1-1 Kristiansund
Prior to the break, Odd began to gather momentum but Kristiansund also ended their winless run. With the hosts finding it difficult at home and the visitors enduring a poor away form, none of the teams are clear favorites in this fixture.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.