With the 2023 Allsvenskan having moved past the halfway stage, which bets should punters be placing on fixtures taking place on Matchday 19?
The 2022 edition of the Allsvenskan proved that Swedish football can be placed up there as one of the most unpredictable leagues in Europe with Hacken being crowned as champions for the first time and 2021 winners Malmo finishing all the way down in seventh position. That perception has been strengthened by Elfsborg - last season's sixth-placed side - currently sitting at the top of the standings, with Hacken down in third, and while that brings unpredictably to punters around the world, it also provides them with value if they search for it.
When punters look at
Swedish betting sites this week, they will see that AIK Fotboll and Brommapojkarna - two clubs sitting in the bottom half of the standings - get Matchday 19 underway. Brommapojkarna are four points clear of their hosts in 11th position with three more wins and four more goals to their name, yet we feel that AIK should be backed to be winning at half time and full time at betting odds of 2.58. At the same time that Brommapojkarna have lost five of their most recent six fixtures, AIK have put together a four-game unbeaten streak, by far their best run of the season. During that run, AIK have recorded draws with title-chasing Malmo and sixth-placed
Kalmar, and their opponents possessing one of the worst defensive records in the league gives us confidence that their resurgence will continue.
On Sunday, lowly Sirius will go head to head with a Kalmar side that sit seven places higher than them in the table. Having lost five of their most recent six fixtures, they are hardly in the kind of form that will fill punters with confidence, yet they are facing a side that have failed to win any of their last four away fixtures in the Allsvenskan. Goals have also proven to be an issue for Kalmar on the road, just eight being netted in nine games, and that lack of a return encourages us to go with betting odds of 3.35 that are on offer for the draw.
There have been times in recent weeks where IFK Norrkoping have struggled to keep pace with the top four in Sweden's top flight, two defeats contributing to a five-point gap now separating them to fourth. Nevertheless, wins have come from the other three games during that period, and it leaves us viewing the 2.5 on offer to win at Halmstad BK as an attractive bet. Halmstad may just be three points adrift of Norrkoping - albeit with a hugely negative goal difference by comparison - but they are without success in four games and have failed to prevail in their last five matches at Orjans Vall.
Kicking off at the same time as that game is Elfsborg's away fixture at Hammarby. Elfsborg have been sensational during 2023, winning 13 of their 18 league games this season, but two of their five failures have come in the last four games. Recently, they went down 3-1 at champions Hacken - hardly a disgraceful result - and they were able to respond by grinding out a 1-0 triumph over Sirius. Hammarby have collected nine points from their last four outings, their solitary loss coming to Brommapojkarna by a 1-0 scoreline, but the character shown by Elfsborg in their last game convinces us to take the 2.25 betting odds that are on offer for an away win.
Malmo, the only team in the entire division to win their last two fixtures, are not in action until Monday when they meet Mjallby AIF. At the very least, Malmo are well on course to secure a return to European football next season, but Henrik Rydstrom has instigated change at the Eleda Stadion since his arrival in December and will only have eyes for the title. Nevertheless, with two defeats coming in their last four away fixtures, we are giving Mjallby a chance of pulling off an upset in this contest. In the reverse fixture as recently as July 9, Mjallby emerged victorious on away territory, leading 2-0 at half time before winning 2-1, and it leads us to think that there is considerable value in the draw at betting odds of 3.75
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