Osters and Sirius square off in a crunch clash at the bottom of the Swedish Allsvenskan on Saturday afternoon.
The two teams are currently occupying 13th and 14th place in the table respectively, with just one point separating the duo.
Martin Foyston’s hosts boosted their bid to beat the drop by earning a 2-1 win over Degerfors last time out.
Seeking to continue their climb up the standings, Osters will look to record back-to-back wins in the league for the first time this season when they square off with Sirius this weekend.
Meanwhile, Sirius will also be feeling better about themselves after signing off for the recent break in the Swedish Allsvenskan schedule with an impressive 3-1 win over AIK Stockholm.
That triumph lifted Andreas Engelmark’s side out of the bottom three and another win here could propel them up to the lofty heights of eighth place.
How the bookies view it: Sirius set for success
Despite losing each of their last two away games, Sirius come into this showdown as 13/10 favourites on Boylesports, while the draw has been priced up at 11/5 with the same bookmaker.
Given that they are currently enjoying a four-game unbeaten run, the value would appear to lie with Osters, who are 7/4 outsiders on Boylesports. Alternatively, a Bet Builder of Osters Double Chance and Under 4 Goals holds plenty of appeal at even-money (1/1) on Bet 365.
Head to head: A close contest on the cards
There is little to separate the sides when it comes to the overall head-to-head record, with three of the six meetings ending level, with Osterus winning once, while Sirius have triumphed twice.
Players to watch: Robbie represents value
With four goals across his last five Swedish Allsvenskan outings – including each of his last two – Robbie Ure represents terrific value in the anytime goalscorer market here at 5/2 on Bet 365.
Having already racked up five yellow cards across his 10 top-flight outings this season, Osters’ Youssoupha Sanyang looks an obvious candidate to collect another caution during this contest at 7/5 (Bet 365).
Predicted line-ups
After serving a one-match suspension last time out, the aforementioned Sanyang should come back into the Osters starting XI, however defender Lukas Bergquistill will now take his place on the naughty step on Saturday.
Having inflicted AIK’s first league defeat of the season on them last time out, Sirius boss Engelmark is not expected to make any changes to his side this weekend.
Osters: Wallinder; Gyamfi, Adolfsson, Kricak, Olsson; Seger, Christensen; Tamminen, Soderberg, Sanyang; Aliev
Sirius: Diawara; Persson, Sandberg, Anker, Widgren; Lindberg, Heier; Bjerkebo, Walta, Persson; Ure
Anything else catch the eye?
In what is a pivotal clash at the bottom of the table, a cagey contest and a lack of goals could be on the cards at the Visma Arena on Saturday.
That has certainly been the case more often than not this season when Otsters are involved, with nine of their opening 12 league games of the season featuring Under 2.5 Goals.
That nine-game sample includes four of Osters’ five league games at home this term, so the even-money (Boylesports) about a repeat this weekend is a price that definitely represents value.
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