SK Brann will look to extend their eight-game unbeaten league run when they welcome Molde to the Brann Stadion on Thursday.
The hosts are sitting in second place in the Eliteserien standings, while the visitors are languishing in 12th position.
Match preview
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After finishing in second place in the last two seasons, Brann will be hoping to go one better this year to end their 18-year wait for the Eliteserien trophy.
Freyr Alexandersson's side have put together a nine-game unbeaten league run since losing to Fredrikstad on the opening day of the season, including a 2-0 victory in Sunday's home clash against Haugesund.
Mads Sande and Aune Heggebo grabbed a goal apiece to seal a third consecutive away league victory, leaving their side three points adrift of leaders Viking, who have played one game more.
Brann will now return to the familiar surroundings of the Brann Stadion, where they have avoided defeat in each of their previous 10 Eliteserien home matches since they lost 3-1 to Sarpsborg 08 in September (W7, D3).
With that said, Brann will be concerned that they have struggled in recent meetings with Molde, having won two, drawn two and lost nine of their 13 league matches, including defeats in both Eliteserien games in the 2024 season.
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After recording consecutive fifth-placed finishes, Molde may have entered the campaign with hopes of replicating their title triumph of the 2022 season.
However, rather than focusing on the top of the table, Molde will be nervously looking over their shoulder after making a disappointing start to Per-Mathias Hogmo's first season in charge, having won two, drawn two and lost four of their eight Eliteserien matches.
Hogmo's charges have lost each of their previous three competitive matches, including back-to-back losses to Kristiansund in the league and the Norwegian Cup.
They then fell to a 2-1 loss in Sunday's away meeting with HamKam, leaving them two points clear of the bottom two ahead of Thursday's encounter.
Molde have now won just one of their four away matches in the Eliteserien this term, but they can at least draw inspiration from the fact that they have won four of their previous six away meetings with Brann, including a 3-1 victory in last May's trip to Brann Stadion.
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Team News
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Brann Jonas Torsvik defender is set for a spell on the sidelines after recently undergoing surgery, while Niklas Jensen Wassberg and Sakarias Opsahl remain unavailable for selection.
Forward Niklas Castro will have to be assessed ahead of the home clash, having been forced to sit out the last four matches due to injury.
Centre-back Fredrik Knudsen also faces a battle to prove his fitness for Thursday's fixture after missing the 2-0 win over Haugesund.
As for the visitors, they could be without the services of Albert Posiadala, Daniel Daga, Markus Kaasa, Jalal Abdullai, Johan Bakke, Caleb Zady Sery and Gustav Nyheim.
Defender Martin Linnes is also a doubt for the away trip after he missed Sunday's loss to HamKam with an injury that he picked up in the cup defeat to Kristiansund.
After scoring in the last two matches, Veton Berisha should continue to lead the line against Brann, although Hogmo does have the option to use Fredrik Gulbrandsen.
SK Brann possible starting lineup:
Dungeland; Pedersen, Helland, Sery Larsen, Soltvedt; Myhre, Kornvig, Gudmundsson; Sande, Finne; Heggebo
Molde possible starting lineup:
Karlstrom; Stenevik, Haugen, Lund, Kabini; Breivik, Daehli, Eikrem; Hestad, Eriksen, Berisha
We say: SK Brann 2-1 Molde
Brann may have struggled in recent meetings with Molde, but they head into Thursday's contest in a confident mood after winning six of their last eight league games, and we think that they will record another victory against a Molde side that have lost their previous three matches.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
