Newly-promoted Aalborg BK get underway in the 2024-25 Danish Superliga campaign when they visit the Right to Dream Park to take on Nordsjaelland in the opening gameweek on Friday.
The Tigrene have won their two most recent season openers, beating Odense 2-0 in 2022 and claiming a 4-1 victory over Viborg last season, and will head into the weekend looking to extend this impressive run.
Match preview
Having narrowly missed out on a place in the Europa Conference League qualification playoff, Nordsjaelland will head into the new campaign looking to improve on their performance from last season and secure a return to Europe.
Jens Olsen's men picked up 37 points from their 22 matches in the regular season to occupy fourth place in the standings and secure their spot in the Championship Round for the second consecutive season.
Nordsjaelland stormed into the Championship Phase as they won all but one of their first seven matches — with a 1-1 draw with Brondby on April 28 being the exception — and looked set to secure European football for the second time in three seasons.
However, a run of two points from their final three games saw the Tigrene end the campaign with 58 points from 33 matches and finish fourth in the table, just one point behind third-placed Copenhagen in the Europa Conference League playoff spot.
Nordsjaelland took part in two warm-up games in pre-season, narrowly claiming a 3-2 victory over Randers FC on June 29, two weeks before suffering a 2-1 loss against Dutch outfit FC Twente.
On the other hand, 12 months after going down, Aalborg have secured immediate promotion to the Superliga following an impressive campaign in the 1st Division last season.
The Reds, who finished 12th in the Superliga in the 2022-23 campaign, picked 51 points from their first 22 1st Division games to end the regular season top of the table and secure a spot in the promotion group.
Aalborg picked up four wins and two draws in their 10 games in the promotion group to end the campaign with 65 points and finish second in the table, three points off league winners Sonderjyske, and return to the top flight at the first time of asking.
Mathias Haugaasen's men head into the new campaign off the back of a decent pre-season, where they picked up one win and one draw in their first two games before suffering a 4-1 loss against Viborg in their final warm-up outing on July 13.
While Aalborg will head into Friday looking to mark their return to the top flight on a high, they will need to be at their best at the Right to Dream Park as they take on an opposing side who are unbeaten in 14 of their last 20 meetings since October 2008.
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Team News
Nordsjaelland remain without veteran defender Erik Marxen, who continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines after sustaining a severe injury in April.
Other than that, the Tigrene head into Friday's season opener with a clean bill of health, giving Olsen the luxury of a full-strength squad at his disposal.
Nordsjaelland will have to cope without teenage sensation Ibrahim Osman, who recently completed a move to Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion.
Aalborg have been active in the summer transfer window, bringing in Amar Diagne, 21-year-old Mylian Jimenez, Australian striker John Iredale and former Borussia Dortmund youngster Bjarne Pudel.
January signing Mathias Jorgensen was a standout performer for the Reds last season as he netted 11 goals and set up two more in 14 appearances last season, and the 23-year-old will look to deliver the goods once again.
Nordsjaelland possible starting lineup:
Hansen; Ankersen, Tverskov, K Hansen, Villadsen; Svensson, Dorgeles; Egeli, Ingvartsen, M Hansen; Harder
Aalborg BK possible starting lineup:
Muller; Jorgensen, Kramer, Otoa; John; Caballo, Davidsen, Widell; Jasson, Ross, Jorgensen
We say: Nordsjaelland 3-1 Aalborg BK
The last five meetings between Nordsjaelland and Aalborg has produced a combined 15 goals and we anticipate another action-packed contest with plenty of goalmouth action. The Tigrene's home advantage gives them a slight upper hand here and we fancy them to come away with the desired result.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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