Kristiansund will be looking to make it three home wins on the bounce when they go head to head with Lillestrom in round 17 of the Norwegian Eliteserien on Sunday.
Both sides head into the weekend separated by just two points and two places in the top half of the league table and we anticipate a thrilling matchup at the Aker Stadion.
Match preview
Kristiansund failed to return to winning ways last Sunday as they played out a goalless draw with Tromso when the sides squared off at the Alfheim Stadion.
While they finished the game with an xG of 2.56, Tromso were guilty of a wasteful display in front of goal as they squandered multiple clear-cut chances before settling for a share of the spoils.
Prior to that, Kristiansund saw their three-game unbeaten run in the league come to an end on July 13, when they were beaten 2-0 by Viking at the Viking Stadion, six days before suffering a 5-2 thrashing at the hands of 1st Division side Aalesund in a mid-season friendly.
With last Sunday's result, Amund Skiri's side have now failed to win five of their last six matches across all competitions — losing three and claiming two draws — with a 3-1 victory over Fredrikstad on July 8 being the exception.
Off the back of three disappointing results on the road, Kristiansund now return home, where they are unbeaten in six of their seven matches this season, including consecutive victories over Sarpsborg and Fredrikstad in their last two outings at the Aker Stadion.
Lillestrom, on the other hand, turned in a resilient team display last weekend when they fought back from two goals behind to salvage a 2-2 draw with Sarpsborg at the Arasen Stadion.
Henrik Wendel Meister scored twice in a 16-minute spell to hand Sarpsborg a comfortable first-half lead but Ruben Gabrielsen pulled one back in the 47th minute before Marius Lundemo levelled matters in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Lillestrom have now gone unbeaten in four of their last five Eliteserien games, claiming three wins and one draw since the start of June, having picked up just one win in the five matches preceding this run.
This upturn in form has seen Robin Asterhed's men move into the top half of the Eliteserien standings as they sit in seventh place with 20 points from 15 matches, two points and two places above Sunday's hosts, albeit with one game in hand.
While Lillestrom will be looking to return to winning ways and strengthen their position in the table, recent results against Kristiansund offer little optimism as they have failed to win 12 of the last 14 meetings between the two sides since March 2017.
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Team News
Kristiansund will take to the pitch without the duo of Franklin Nyenetue and 21-year-old defender Max Williamsen, who are currently recuperating from injuries.
Experienced defender Christoffer Aasbak missed the game against Tromso last weekend through an ankle problem and the 31-year-old is also out of contention for the hosts.
As for Lillestrom, Lars Ranger has been ruled out since March through a cruciate ligament injury and the 25-year-old will play no part in this weekend's tie.
Asterhed will also be unable to name defender Martin Roseth, who has missed each of the last seven games since sustaining a foot injury versus Fredrikstad back in May
They are joined on the club's injury table by the Norwegian trio of Vebjorn Hoff, Erling Knudtzon and Elias Solberg, who all continue their spells on the sidelines.
Kristiansund possible starting lineup:
Lansing; Sjatil, Hopmark, Ulvestad, Rakneberg; Segberg, Isaksen, Alte; Sivertsen, Mikaelsson, Bruseth
Lillestrom possible starting lineup:
Christiansen; Charles, Garnas, Gabrielsen, Elkaer; Krygard, Lundemo, Asen; Kitolano, Olsen, Va
We say: Kristiansund 1-2 Lillestrom
Lillestrom have put together a fine run of form in recent weeks and will be backing themselves against an out-of-sorts Kristiansund side who have won just one of their last five matches across all competitions.
While Skiri's men have been rock-solid on home turf, we predict that Lillestrom will take the positives from their comeback against Sarpsborg and claim all three points here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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