Two sides in contrasting form square off in round 12 of the Swedish Allsvenskan as Sirius and AIK Fotboll go head to head at the Studenternas IP on Sunday.
Andreas Engelmark's men have failed to taste victory in any of their last nine home games against the Gnaget since May 2009 and will head into the weekend looking to end this 16-year spell.
Match preview
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Sirius continue to struggle for results at the wrong end of the Allsvenskan standings as they suffered a 2-1 defeat against GAIS Goteborg last Saturday after giving up their lead in the final 20 minutes.
Following a relatively uneventful first half at the Gamla Ullevi, Scottish forward Robbie Ure struck in the 66th minute to put the hosts in front but Amin Boudri restored parity in the 71st minute before Ibrahim Diate completed the GAIS comeback with an 86th-minute strike.
With that result, Sirius have now lost three games on the bounce, conceding seven goals and scoring four, and have failed to win nine of their last 10 outings — losing six and claiming three draws since kicking off the season with a 2-1 victory over Varnamo in March's season opener.
Having secured a ninth-placed finish last term, it has been another difficult campaign for Engelmark's men, who currently sit 14th in the Allsvenskan standings with nine points from 11 matches, one point behind 13th-placed Halmstads just above the dotted line.
While Sirius will be looking to stop the rot this weekend, next up is the stern challenge of taking on an opposing side who are unbeaten in 22 of their last 23 encounters, picking up 14 wins and eight draws since May 2009.
AIK, on the other hand, maintained their fine run of results in the league as they secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Brommapojkarna when the two sides squared off at the Grimsta IP last Sunday.
In a game where Anton Saletros received his marching orders, Dalheno Irandust failed to give Brommapojkarna the lead from the penalty spot in the 21st minute before Johan Hove struck in the 44th minute to hand the visitors all three points.
AIK head into the weekend as the only side yet to suffer defeat in the 2025 Allsvenskan campaign, picking up seven wins and five draws while scoring 17 goals and keeping seven clean sheets so far.
Mikkjal Kjartansson Thomassen's men have picked up 26 points from the first 36 to sit second in the league standings, one point above third-placed Elfsborg and one behind leader Mjallby.
Team News
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Sirius will have to cope without the services of Georgian defender Saba Mamatsashvili, who is currently suspended after crossing the yellow card threshold with his booking against GAIS last time out.
In his absence, 31-year-old Dennis Widgren will push for his third league start of the season, forming the back four with Jakob Voelkerling Persson, Tobias Carlsson and Danish defender Tobias Anker.
On the injury front, Engelmark will be unable to name Swedish forward Herman Sjorgell, who continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering an injury back in July 2024.
Like the hosts, AIK will take to the pitch without the services of Saletros, who is suspended after receiving his marching orders against Brommapojkarna last time out.
Danilo Al Saed (knee), Eskil Edh (back) and Martin Ellingsen (leg) all continue their spells on the sidelines and are out of contention for the trip to the Studenternas IP
Sirius possible starting lineup:
Diawara; Persson, Carlsson, Anker, Widgren; Lindberg, Heier; Bjerkebo, Walta, Persson; Ure
AIK Fotboll possible starting lineup:
Nordfeldt; Isherwood, Benkovic, Papagiannopoulos; Thychosen, Csongvai, Hove, Celina, Besirovic; Guidetti, Kakoullis
We say: Sirius 0-2 AIK Fotboll
With a third of the season gone, Thomassen will take pride in AIK's performance so far as they find themselves in the upper echelons of the table and in the mix for the title.
AIK will be licking their lips this weekend as they go up against an out-of-sorts Sirius side who have lost their last three matches and we are backing them to extend their dominance in this fixture.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
