Gameweek eight of the 2025 Norwegian Eliteserien campaign sees Sarpsborg 08 and Tromso IL go head-to-head at the Sarpsborg Stadion on Sunday afternoon.
Off the back of victories in their respective last outings, both teams will head into this weekend's encounter on a high as they look to pick up where they left off.
Match preview
© Imago
Sarpsborg finished just four points shy of relegation last season, but based on the evidence of their opening seven matches this term, they look well-placed to enjoy a more productive campaign this time around.
Christian Michelsen's men got the ball rolling with a dominant 2-0 triumph over Molde and are unbeaten in five of their subsequent six league matches, with their only defeat in that time coming against Stromsgodset towards the back end of April.
Tuesday's demolition of lower-league outfit Egersund in the NM Cup round of 16 extended Sarpsborg's active streak of matches across all competitions without a defeat to five since the start of May.
A four-goal haul last time out took Sarpsborg's tally of goals scored in the last four matches to 12, and the team from Ostfold County will be keen to flex their newly found attacking muscle once again in Sunday's clash.
Sarpsborg have found games against Tromso to be a source of joy in recent seasons with three wins and one draw from the most recent five meetings, during which they have found the back of the net a whopping 13 times.
© Imago
Tromso have had an up-and-down start to the campaign, losing half of their opening eight matches, and the most recent of those losses saw them exit the NM Cup at the hands of KFUM Oslo courtesy of a 1-0 defeat two Thursdays ago.
Jorgen Vik's men wasted no time exacting revenge on KFUM Oslo as they ran out comfortable 3-1 winners when the sides faced off again in league duty before narrowly edging defending champions Bodo/Glimt 2-1 to win consecutive matches for the first time this season.
Off the back of consecutive blanks, the Gutan have now scored five times across their last two matches, and Vetle Skjaervik has proven to be an unlikely source of attacking firepower from defence, having netted in both games.
Tromso's recent resurgence has propelled them up to ninth place in the standings with 10 points from seven matches so far, two points shy of Sarpsborg ahead of this weekend's meeting.
A chance to keep the momentum going now lies in wait for Sunday's visitors, who have been solid away from home all season long with no defeats in the last four on enemy territory since losing 3-1 against SK Brann.
Team News
Anders Hiim has been without an appearance for Sarpsborg since September due to a knee injury that is set to keep the defender out of action for an even lengthier spell.
Jo Inge Berget has missed the last seven matches as he continues to battle with a muscle problem, making him a huge doubt to play any part on Sunday.
Twenty-two-year-old Daniel Karlsbakk has been directly involved in 10 goals in his last nine matches for the home side and is definitely one to keep a close watch on here.
Daniel Braut has come off the bench to assist a goal for Tromso in back-to-back games, which could see him finally rewarded with a place in the starting lineup.
Should that happen, Vegard Erlien is expected to be the player sacrificed to make room for his Norwegian counterpart, although August Mikkelsen could also be dropped instead.
Sarpsborg 08 possible starting lineup:
Ndiaye; Reinhardsen, Uchenna, Koch, Wichne; Sher, Christiansen; Orjasaeter, Tangen, Carstensen; Karlsbakk
Tromso IL possible starting lineup:
Haugaard; Skjaervik, Guddal, Kinteh; Cornic, Edvardsson, Jenssen, Antonsen, Norheim; Erlien, Mikkelsen
We say: Sarpsborg 08 2-1 Tromso IL
Neither team is short on confidence heading into this one, and that should translate to an open and end-to-end contest.
That said, we are just about leaning towards a win for the home side when all is said and done.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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