Two of the top three meet in Norway’s Eliteserien this Sunday, as SK Brann welcome Sarpsborg 08 to the Brann Stadion in Bergen.
Three-time Norwegian Premier League winners, SK Brann have failed to win the Eliteserien for ten years but are aiming to build on their second-place finish of last season. Having been relegated from the top-flight in 2014, SK Brann have done well to return to the top of Norwegian football and could have a meeting with Everton in the next round of the UEFA Europa League.
SK Brann’s opponents in this match, Sarpsborg 08 were founded a year after Brann won their last league title in 2007. There best finish in the Eliteserien came last year when they were sixth. In 2016, they came runners-up in the Norwegian Cup but are yet to win a major trophy.
Trends show SK Brann are undefeated in their last ten home matches and will be aiming to continue their run of form this weekend. In fact, they are unbeaten in eight of their last nine Eliteserien games, including both home and away fixtures.
However, SK Brann have won only one of their last six matches in the Eliteserien and this sequence of results has seen them remain in second place. They may have lost only one of those six games but having drawn four, Lars Nilsen will want to get back to winning ways on Sunday. SK Brann are undefeated in nineteen of their last twenty home league games.
Sarpsborg 08 come into this match on the back of three straight draws in the Eliteserien and this sees them sitting in third place, behind SK Brann on goal difference.
Interestingly, trends show Sarpsborg 08 have lost only one of their previous ten league games but have managed to win just one of their last six. Three draws and one defeat in their last four games show a team who have struggled to pick up maximum points recently and this is the reason they have failed to move to the top of the table.
Sarpsborg 08 have won just three of their last thirteen away games in the Eliteserien and could find this is one their toughest matches of the season.
Looking at the team news heading into this game and SK Brann have doubts over Deyver Vega and Daniel Braaten. With the second leg of their Europa League tie to come next week, Nilsen may be tempted to rotate a couple of this players.
Sarpsborg 08 are without Matti Lund Nielsen who is suspended and forward Jonas Linberg is a doubt having been forced off with an injury last weekend. These are the only two concerns for Geir Bakke.
These are the two teams who looked most likely to put pressure on Rosenborg at the top of the table. However, SK Brann have failed to win in their last three games and Sarpsborg 08 in their last four. They played each other in the league recently, with the match ending 1-1 and don’t be surprised to see a low scoring draw as the outcome in this match, leaving Rosenborg as the real winner.