Hammarby will be looking to make it three wins in succession in the Swedish Allsvenskan when they play host to Halmstad on Saturday afternoon.
Kim Hellberg’s side will return to top-flight action after earning an impressive 2-0 victory away at Elfsborg last month.
That triumph has kept the Stockholm giants firmly in the title race, as they are currently just three points behind league leaders Mjallby.
With Hammarby carrying momentum, they will be confident about their chances of collecting another three points when Halmstad come calling.
Johan Lindholm’s side have endured a tricky start to the campaign, coming away empty-handed from seven of their opening 12 league games of the season.
While HBK will be feeling a bit better about themselves after defeating Djurgarden 1-0 last time out, they can expect a much sterner test at the 3Arena this weekend.
How the bookies view it: Hammarby hot favourites
Having lost just one of their last nine Swedish Allsvenskan matches, it’s no surprise to see Hammarby as heavy 2/7 favourites on Boylesports. That price can be boosted to a much more appealing 23/20 (Boylesports) by adding in Under 3.5 Goals – a combination that has clicked in six of Hammarby’s eight league wins this season.
Halmstad have struggled to collect points away from home this season, and that is reflected in the pre-match odds. The visitors are as big as 8/1 (Boylesports) to emerge from this contest victorious, while the draw is also considered unlikely at 4/1 (Boylesports).
Head to head: Hammarby hold the upper hand
Hammarby can draw confidence from their recent record in this fixture, avoiding defeat in five of their six meetings with Halmstad. Last season’s corresponding fixture saw the hosts run out 1-0 winners and the same scoreline on Saturday can be backed at 13/2 on Boylesports.
Players to watch: Nahir to notch?
Having hit four goals across his last seven appearances for Hammarby, Nahir Besara stands out for an anytime strike here at 7/5 on UniBet. It’s also worth noting that the 34-year-old scored the only goal of the game during Hammarby’s last home match with Degerfors.
Filip Schyberg was the Halmstad hero last time out, with his goal proving decisive against Djurgarden. The Swedish centre-half is as big as 20/1 (UniBet) to hit the back of the net on Saturday.
Predicted line-ups
Striker Abdelrahman Boudah could come back into the Hammarby side after coming off the bench to score his side's second goal in their aforementioned 2-0 at Elfsborg.
Following his side’s 1-0 win over Djurgarden, Halmstad boss Lindholm is not expected to make any alterations to his starting XI.
Hammarby: Hahn; Pinas, Eriksson, Fofana; Skoglund, Karlsson, Tekie; Strand; Besara, Tounekti, Boudah
Halmstad: Erlandsson; Olsson, Kurtulus, Schyberg; Granath, Allansson, Eyjolfsson, Friberg; Mohammed, Agnero, Arvidsson
Anything else catch the eye?
Given how accustomed Hammarby have been to claiming low-key victories this season, the 17/10 on Boylesports for the hosts to win either 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1 looks well worthy of support.
As already mentioned, this bet would have paid out in Hammarby's recent 2-0 success away at Elfsborg.
In fact, the capital club have triumphed by one of the aforementioned scorelines in five of their eight wins in this season’s Swedish Allsvenskan.
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