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| The highlight of the gameweek sees Brann take on Aalesunds in a top 4 clash on Sunday. |
The Eliteserien continues to be a rather hard beast to tame but I feel I’m starting to get the hang of it. This week we missed out on a decent treble by just one leg with Molde’s second half concession of a goal wrecking things. Anyway, that’s enough dwelling in the past for one week, let’s look ahead to this weekend’s fixtures. We have quite a nice set actually with a few evenly matched clashes. The highlight of the gameweek sees Brann take on Aalesunds in a top 4 clash.
Saturday 1 July
21/20 Lillestrom | Draw 24/10 | Stromgodset 9/4 (18:00)
This week’s fixture list has not been kind to Stromgodset who have one less day to prepare for action than their counterparts. And while this isn’t a huge issue for European glamour clubs such as Chelsea or Bayern Munich, it must be remembered that these Norwegian sides have much smaller squads than Europe’s elite sides. The visitors come into this one off the back of a 1-1 draw with Molde while Lillestrom went down 3-1 away to Valerenga in their gameweek 14 outing. Both of these teams currently occupy spots in the bottom third of the log, mainly due to their defensive frailties. As such, my money is on the Totals – Over 2.5 Goals – market which is available at 7/10.
33/20 Sogndal | 47/20 | Aalesunds 29/20 (20:15)
Next up, we have a clash between strugglers Sogndal and high-flying Aalesunds. The hosts put in a decent first half shift against Rosenberg last Sunday but still ended up on the wrong side of a 3-0 scoreline. Aalesunds, on the other hand, come into this one off the back of 5-1 victory over Odds. And while their opponents did lose a man quite early in the piece, Aalesunds still looked mightily impressive. I quite fancy the visitors to continue their run of good form here and at 29/20, they offer terrific value!
Sunday 2 July
5/10 Molde | 32/10 | Viking 5/1 (18:00)
Onto Sunday’s fixtures now and the first game we’ll take a look at is between Molde and Viking. The hosts, who sit fifth on the table, come into this one off the back of a 1-1 draw with Stromgodset while Viking produced an identical scoreline against Haugesund. There may not be much value here, but with the hosts solid home record I can’t help but back them for the win – get on at 5/10!
8/10 Haugesund | 51/20 | Tromso 3/1 (18:00)
Haugesund will be looking to bounce back from their draw with Viking when they take on another struggling side in the form of Tromso. The visitors, like Haugesund, also come into this one off the back of a draw, although they will be a lot more pleased with the result as it came against mid-table opposition rather than a side below them. Yes, Haugesund struggled last week but I fully expect them to bounce back here against a Tromso side that has only won three out of their 14 games. Back the home win with confidence!
13/10 Sandefjord | 24/10 | Stabaek 37/20 (18:00)
Sandefjord will be looking to make it seven points from a possible nine when they take on a Stabaek side that is on a four-match losing streak. The visitors were put to the sword by Kristiansund last Sunday evening, going down 4-1 while the hosts come into this one off the back of a 1-1 draw with Tromso. The visitors are struggling for results and I can’t see them breaking their losing streak here. Get on the hosts at 13/10!
27/20 Odds BK | 23/10 | Sarpsborg 37/20 (18:00)
Odds BK will be looking to bounce back from their underwhelming performance against Aalesunds when they take on third-placed Sarpsborg this Saturday. The hosts’ 5-1 defeat at the hands of Aalesunds has seen them drop down to sixth place in the league and they can’t afford another loss. This should be a rather cagey affair with both sides having a hell of a lot to play for. My tip here is to back the Under 2.5 Goals market which is available at a respectable 9/10.
15/20 Brann | 26/10 | Vaerenga 31/10 (20:00)
Free-scoring Brann take on fifth place Vaerenga in Sunday’s final fixture. The hosts followed up a 5-0 victory over Stabaek with a rather dour 1-1 draw with Sarpsborg. The latter result was to be expected, however, as both of the sides are duking it out near the top of the table. Vaerenga have also fared pretty well over the last two gameweeks, drawing with Stromgodset and beating Lillestrom. This could prove to be a rather tight game, and I can see the hosts edging it by a goal. Get on the home win at 15/20!
Monday 3 July
9/2 Kristiansund | 28/10 | Rosenborg 11/20 (19:00)
Our final game of the week sees league-leaders Rosenborg travel to a Kristiansund side that will be high on confidence after downing Stabaek. Despite the hosts’ victory in gameweek 14, the visitors come into this one as heavy favourites and are 11/20 for the win. The bookies are backing them to deliver and so am I! Get on the away win at 11/20.
TREBLE @ 6/1
Lillestrom vs Stormsgodset Over 2.5 Goals 7/10
Haugesund Win 8/10
Sandefjord Win 13/10
Written by Darry Worthington
