Malmo FF will be looking to maintain their lead at the top of the Swedish Allsvenskan when they host Sirius at Eleda Stadium on Saturday.
This marks the second meeting between the two sides within a week, with Malmo securing a 4-3 victory at Studenternas IP on July 17.
Match preview
Malmo were involved in European action on Tuesday, kicking off their Champions League campaign with a convincing 4-1 home win over Faroese side KI Klaksvik in the first leg of their second qualifying round tie.
A first-half brace from Lasse Berg Johnsen, along with a goal from Hugo Bolin, gave the Swedish side a comfortable lead before half time, before Soren Rieks added a fourth late in the game after Arni Frederiksberg pulled a goal back for KI earlier in the second half.
Domestically, Henrik Rydstrom's men bounced back quickly from their defeat to Mjallby with the win over Sirius, solidifying their position at the top of the league with 38 points, as they now hold a seven-point lead over second-placed Djurgardens, having played one more game.
Returning to Eleda Stadium on Saturday, the Blues will be aiming to maintain their perfect home record, having won all seven of their home matches so far.
Malmo have been ruthless at home, scoring the second-most goals on home soil (21) while conceding the fewest (two) and picking up the most points (21).
The hosts are on a three-match winning streak against their upcoming opponent and will be confident of another victory with a strong showing, having put four goals past Sirius a week ago.
Meanwhile, Sirius will be hoping to achieve their second-ever win over Malmo, with their only previous victory coming in 2022 at Studenternas IP.
The visitors have never won at Eleda Stadium, losing seven times and drawing twice in their nine encounters there, while losing 14 of the 17 meetings between the two teams across all competitions.
Things are not looking good for Christer Mattiasson's team at the moment, as they sit precariously close to the relegation zone, with only two points separating them from the drop.
Having won two and lost three of their last five matches, inconsistency continues to be Sirius' biggest issue and they could face consecutive losses, as their away form has been particularly poor, losing their last two matches on the road.
Team News
Malmo will remain without the services of midfielder Oscar Lewicki, who has been sidelined since January with a cruciate ligament tear, and centre-forward Daniel Gudjohnsen, who has been nursing a back injury since August 2023.
Stefano Vecchia is also out with a back injury, while Anton Tinnerholm and Sead Haksabanovic are nursing groin issues.
Joseph Ceesay, Niklas Moisander and Anders Christiansen complete the home side's long injury list and are not expected to feature until next month.
Sirius will also be without Tobias Carlsson who has not featured for over three months due to a knee injury.
The team's leading scorer, Yousef Salech, missed the previous fixture against Malmo, and there has been no concrete reports on his availability.
Malmo possible starting lineup:
Dahlin; Larsen, Jansson, Zatterstrom, Busanello; Pena, Johnsen; Ali, Nanasi, Bolin; Thelin
Sirius possible starting lineup:
Tannander; Castegren, Nwadike, Jeng, Widgren; Stensson, Walta; Milleskog, Lindberg, Heier; Salech
We say: Malmo 2-0 Sirius
Malmo have been ruthless at home this season, and they will have too much for Sirius to handle, which is why we are predicting a comfortable win for the hosts, possibly with another clean sheet.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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