Sports Mole previews Sunday’s Swedish Allsvenskan clash between Varnamo and IFK Goteborg, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
IFK Goteborg will be bidding to make it back-to-back victories in the Swedish Allsvenskan when they resume their campaign with a contest against Varnamo on Sunday afternoon.
The visitors were 1-0 winners over Elfsborg before the break, while Varnamo suffered a 2-1 home loss to Mjallby in their last fixture at the start of June.
Match preview
Varnamo have won four, drawn two and lost six of their 12 league matches this season to collect 14 points, which has left them in 12th position in the table.
Anes Mravac‘s side recorded a standout 4-0 victory over IFK Norrkoping at the end of May, but they opened June with a 2-1 home loss to Mjallby.
Varnamo were actually a third-tier outfit as recent as 2020, but they secured back-to-back promotions into Sweden’s top flight and have since finished 10th and fifth at this level.
Incredibly, 13 of the team’s 14 points this season have come on their travels, boasting the second-best away record in the entire division behind runaway leaders Malmo.
At home, on the other hand, it has been a real struggle for Mravac’s team, collecting just one point from their six matches, scoring four times and conceding 14 in the process.
Goteborg have picked up points in three of their six away league matches this season, meanwhile, so they will be confident of claiming a positive result on Sunday afternoon.
The Blue and Whites are 18-time Swedish champions, with 13 of those triumphs coming in the Allsvenskan, making them the second-most successful side at this level behind Malmo.
The Angels, who last won the title in 2007, finished down in 13th last season, though, and they have also struggled to show their best form during the current campaign.
Stefan Billborn‘s side are currently 13th in the table, boasting 14 points from their 12 matches, which has left them just three points ahead of 14th-placed Norrkoping.
Goteborg beat Elfsborg 1-0 before the break, though, so they will be aiming to make it successive triumphs in Sunday’s contest with Varnamo.
Varnamo Swedish Allsvenskan form:
IFK Goteborg Swedish Allsvenskan form:
Team News
Varnamo have not reported any injury concerns ahead of this match, so the hosts could have a fully-fit squad to choose from on Sunday afternoon.
There are unlikely to be any major surprises in the home side’s XI this weekend, with head coach Mravac potentially naming the same side that started against Mjallby last time out.
Johnbosco Samuel Kalu has scored five times in eight appearances for the club this season, and the 26-year-old will again operate in the final third of the field.
As for Goteborg, three players have been ruled out of the match through injury, with Mattias Johansson, Arbnor Mucolli and Suleiman Abdullahi all unavailable for selection.
Gustaf Norlin has scored three times in 12 appearances this season, and the 27-year-old will lead the line for the visitors this weekend.
Thomas Santos has been operating further forward and that is again expected to be the case here, while Oscar Pettersson is another certain starter in the final third of the field.
Varnamo possible starting lineup:
Rasheed; Winsth, Larsson, Hasic, Lohikangas, Bergh; Engvall, Adjei, Wenderson, Zeljkovic; Kalu
IFK Goteborg possible starting lineup:
Bishesari; Hausner, Svensson, Carlen, Wendt; Ohlsson, Thordarson, Kahed; Santos, Norlin, Pettersson
We say: Varnamo 1-2 IFK Goteborg
Both sides have 14 points from their 12 league matches this season, and we are expecting a close game on Sunday, but Goteborg have enough quality to edge out a narrow victory here to record their first success over Varnamo since November 2022.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.