Sunday, July 20

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Sports Mole previews Sunday's Swedish Allsvenskan clash between Mjallby AIF and AIK Fotboll, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Strandvallen will be the backdrop to a six-pointer in the Swedish Allsvenskan title race when league leaders Mjallby AIF face off against AIK Fotboll on Sunday.

The hosts will be looking to extend their unbeaten run to 10 matches, while Gnaget will be aiming to make it back-to-back wins for the first time since April.

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Match preview

Anders Torstensson's Mjallby have enjoyed an exceptional campaign so far, losing just one of their 16 top-flight games while winning 11 and drawing the other four.

Ahead of this clash, the hosts continued their fine run of results with a 2-1 victory over Sirius, though the manager will be keen to stamp out the complacency that saw his team become defensively sloppy after taking a two-goal lead with just 16 minutes on the clock.

Luckily for Torstensson, goalkeeper Noel Tornqvist was on hand to make six saves to seal the three points, and the hard-fought triumph moved his side four points clear of second-placed Hammarby with a tally of 37.

Hoping to further cement their position as title favourites this weekend, the hosts will take confidence from their impressive home record that features an unbeaten league season to date, as well as three clean sheets from their last four games at Strandvallen.

Yet another victory could send Mjallby seven points clear at the top of the table should Bajen lose their own match, but a rare defeat would give their rivals the chance to reduce the gap to a much more tense one.

Meanwhile, Mikkjal Thomassen's AIK started the Allsvenskan season in strong fashion, winning six of their first eight in the league, but with only three victories from the eight games since, they are at risk of falling out of the European places this weekend.

Last Sunday, Gnaget bounced back from their 2-0 defeat against Halmstad by beating Degerfors 3-0, meaning that they now have two wins to go alongside their four losses since the end of May.

That victory kept Thomassen's men third in the table with 32 points, three above fourth-placed Elfsborg, one behind second-placed Hammarby and five behind their hosts at the summit.

Knowing that another defeat could open the door for Di Gule, the visitors will need to defy their recent travelling record of three straight losses if they are to stay in the top three, but they could take heart from the fact that they were unbeaten on the road for the entirety of the campaign until June.

Three points on Sunday would be enough for AIK to move up to second and re-enter the title race by reducing the gap to first to just two, but walking away empty-handed could see them drop down to fourth depending on goal difference.

Mjallby AIF Swedish Allsvenskan form:

Mjallby AIF form (all competitions):

AIK Fotboll Swedish Allsvenskan form:

AIK Fotboll form (all competitions):

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Team News

Given that all three of Mjallby's front three registered a goal or assist against Sirius last time out, expect to see Viktor Gustafson, Jacob Bergstrom and Elliot Stroud start this weekend.

Just behind them, Jesper Gustavsson should captain the side from midfield alongside Ludwig Malachowski Thorell, and the duo should be flanked by Uba Charles and Timo Stavitski.

In the backline, a three-man defence of Abdullah Iqbal, Jakob Kiilerich and Tom Pettersson will be protecting Noel Tornqvist between the sticks.

As for AIK, striker Andronikos Kakoullis netted a brace in the win over Degerfors, and he will be supported by Taha Ayari and Johan Hove from out wide on Sunday.

Elsewhere, centre-backs Filip Benkovic, Sotirios Papagiannopoulos and Thomas Isherwood will have their work cut out to keep the league leaders at bay.

Mjallby AIF possible starting lineup:

Tornqvist; Iqbal, Kiilerich, Pettersson; Charles, Gustavsson, Thorell, Stavitski; Gustafson, Bergstrom, Stroud

AIK Fotboll possible starting lineup:

Nordfeldt; Thychosen, Benkovic, Papagiannopoulos, Isherwood, Geiger; Ayari, Saletros, Csongvai, Hove; Kakoullis

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We say: Mjallby AIF 2-0 AIK Fotboll

 

Mjallby are unbeaten on their own turf this season, and having kept three clean sheets from their last four home games, they will be expecting another positive result this weekend.

In contrast, AIK have lost three away matches on the bounce ahead of this clash, and with four defeats from their six most recent fixtures, they may be low on confidence.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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