Sandefjord will be looking to maintain their 100% home record in the new Norwegian Eliteserien campaign when they go head to head with Stromsgodset on Sunday.
The Godset, meanwhile, will journey to Komplett Arena looking to get one over the home side, having failed to win any of their previous four encounters in all competitions since scraping a 1-0 victory in May 2023.
Match preview
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Sandefjord were sent crashing back to earth in their surge to the top of the Eliteserien standings as they fell to a 3-1 defeat against Viking when the two sides met at the Viking Stadion last Friday.
In a game where Stefan Ingi Sigurdarson received his marching orders, Jakob Maslo Dunsby struck in the 59th minute to cancel out Peter Christiansen's opener but Zlatko Tripic netted a late brace to fire Viking to all three points.
Before that, Sandefjord saw their run of three consecutive victories across all competitions come to an end on May 7, when they fell to a 3-1 loss against Sarpsborg in the NM Cup third round, four days before bouncing back in a 2-1 home win over Valerenga in the league.
Off the back of a 10th-placed finish last year, Andreas Tegstrom's side have picked up four wins and lost three of their first seven games this term to collect 12 points and sit seventh in the table, level on points with sixth-placed Sarpsborg.
Sandefjord will be backing themselves to find their feet this weekend as they return to Komplett Arena, where they have won each of their three league games this season, scoring seven goals and keeping two clean sheets so far.
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Over in Drammen, Stromsgodset continue to struggle for results in the new league campaign as they fell to a 2-0 defeat against Bryne at the Marienlyst Stadion last Friday.
In an action-packed contest, Stromsgodset were guilty of a lack of sting at the attacking end of the pitch as Sanel Bojadzic netted in the sixth minute to hand Bryne a dream start to the game before Logi Tomasson scored a second-half own goal to make sure of the results.
Stromsgodset have now lost four of their most recent five matches, a run which has seen their NM Cup campaign also come to an end after suffering a penalty-shootout defeat against 1st Division side Mjondalen in the second round on April 24.
Jorgen Isnes's men have picked up six points from the first 21 available to sit 12th in the Eliteserien standings, level on points with Bryne, but they could move into 10th-place with a win this weekend.
However, it is worth mentioning that Stromsgodset have failed to taste victory in any of their last six visits to the Komplett Arena, losing three and claiming three draws since a 2-1 win in October 2017.
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Team News
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Sandefjord will have to cope without the services of 24-year-old Sigurdarson, who is set to sit out the first of his three-game suspension after picking up a straight red card late in the game against Viking last time out.
In his absence, Swiss striker Darrell Kamdem Tibell should be handed his first league start of the campaign, forming the front three with Evangelos Patoulidis and 25-year-old Dunsby.
Sebastian Holm Mathisen has missed each of the last six games since April's 3-0 victory over Molde and the 19-year-old forward is a major doubt for the home side this weekend.
As for Stromsgodset, Isnes will be unable to name the attacking duo of Elias Hoff Melkersen and Ulland Andersen, who have both been ruled out through knee injuries.
Jostein Ekeland has missed five straight games since sustaining an injury back in April and the 27-year-old is also out of contention for the trip to Komplett Arena.
Sandefjord possible starting lineup:
Hadaya; Loftesnes-Bjune, Smajlovic, Kristiansen, Cheng; Melchior, Ottosson, Mettler; Patoulidis, Tibell, Dunsby
Stromsgodset possible starting lineup:
Bratveit; Tomasson, Vilsvik, Valsvik, Dahl; Stengel, Krasniqi, Therkelsen; Moller, Mehnert, Farji
We say: Sandefjord 2-0 Stromsgodset
Sandefjord have struggled for consistency this season but they will fancy their chances against an out-of-sorts Stromsgodset side who have failed to win their most recent four encounters. Tegstrom's men have been tough to crack at Komplett Arena this season and we predict they will extend their dominant home record in this fixture.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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Joshua Ojele
