As they push for European football in the Swedish Allsvenskan, out-of-sorts Elfsborg are set to face Hacken at Boras Arena on Sunday.
Di Gule will be hoping to return to winning ways this weekend, while Getingarna will be looking to bounce back from consecutive league defeats.
Match preview
Oscar Hiljemark's Elfsborg produced an impressive five-game streak of victories in May, but having dropped five points in the two competitive matches since, they have fallen behind in the race for the top three.
Last Sunday, Di Gule followed up their 2-0 Allsvenskan loss against Hammarby and 1-0 friendly defeat against Mjallby by drawing 0-0 with bottom-of-the-table Varnamo in the top flight, marking their third straight game without scoring.
That run of poor offensive displays will be particularly concerning for the manager given that his team had netted four times in each of the three games prior, and he will be hoping that a clash against a fellow out-of-form club could rejuvenate the forward line.
Regardless, their recent stalemate left Hiljemark's side in fourth place with 26 points, three ahead of fifth-placed Malmo FF, but three behind AIK in one of the division's spots for entry into UEFA Conference League qualifiers.
Knowing that victory could lift them up to third thanks to their superior goal difference, the hosts will be keen to prove that their back-to-back home defeats ahead of this match were just a blip, and fans will be quietly confident considering that they saw their team win the previous five on the bounce on their own turf.
Meanwhile, Jens Gustafsson's Hacken are in mixed form overall, but with only one win from their last six top-flight matches, their chances of making European competition again next term seem slim.
This past weekend, Getingarna were beaten 3-1 by GAIS on their return to league action, and the boss will be frustrated by the fact that his team generated just one shot on target - the late consolation goal scored by 18-year-old Isak Brusberg - compared to their opponents' seven.
Dropping three points once again has Gustafsson's men 10th in the table with a tally of 15, leaving them 14 short of the top three and worryingly only two above Halmstad in the relegation playoff spot, as well as three ahead of Oster in the guaranteed drop zone.
As they fight to keep their distance from the threat of demotion, the visitors will be aware that they have failed to win an away game in the Allsvenskan for more than two months, though they did get the better of league-rivals Malmo in the Svenska Cupen back in May, and have lost just two of their last six on the road.
Should Hacken earn their fifth triumph of the season on Sunday, then they could leapfrog both Norrkoping and Djurgarden to move up to eighth, but given that five of the six teams below them are within three points of Getingarna, defeat could have disastrous consequences.
Elfsborg Swedish Allsvenskan form:
Hacken Swedish Allsvenskan form:
Hacken form (all competitions):
Team News
After their dire dry patch in front of goal, Elfsborg's front three of Arber Zeneli, Frederik Ihler and Taylor Silverholt will be desperate to fire the European hopefuls back on track.
On the flanks, wing-backs Simon Hedlund and Niklas Hult will provide width either side of midfielders Simon Olsson and Julius Magnusson.
As for Hacken, they could be without attacking midfielder Mikkel Rygaard Jensen after he picked up an injury against GAIS, so expect to see Srdan Hrstic line up behind main striker Isak Brusberg.
In the backline, Gustafsson should start Harry Hilvenius and Marius Lode at centre-half after Abdoulaye Faye was sold to Bayer Leverkusen in late June.
Elfsborg possible starting lineup:
Eriksson; Holmen, Buhari, Wikstrom; Hedlund, Olsson, Magnusson, Hult; Zeneli, Ihler, Silverholt
Hacken possible starting lineup:
Berisha; Ohman, Hilvenius, Lode, Lundqvist; Gustafson, Holm; Mitrovic, Hrstic, Nioule; Brusberg
We say: Elfsborg 1-1 Hacken
Elfsborg might not be able to recapture the goalscoring prowess that they showed in mid-May, but they will be expecting to avoid defeat this weekend at the very least considering their strong home record.
That being said, Hacken have only lost twice on the road since early April, and they could put up a fight on Sunday.
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