Superettan Preview: BK Häcken Awaits a Winning Streak to Regain Top Form, Elfsborg Suffers Consecutive Away Defeats

At 22:30 on the evening of July 14th, the 14th round of the Swedish Super League will take place. BK Häcken will host Elfsborg at their home ground. Currently in the league standings, BK Häcken has 7 wins, 2 draws, and 5 losses with 23 points, temporarily ranking 4th. Elfsborg has 6 wins, 1 draw, and 7 losses with 19 points, temporarily ranking 7th.

After 14 games, BK Häcken has averaged 1.64 points per match, which is notably lower than the 1.9 points per game from last season. During their championship-winning season in 2022, BK Häcken averaged 2.13 points per match. This season, BK Häcken has secured 4 victories in the 7 home games they have played so far, indicating a decent home performance. However, last year, they claimed 14 victories out of 15 home matches. The attack-defense ratio for BK Häcken stands at 26:23. Their offensive capabilities rank among the top 3 in the league. Their defensive capabilities rank 11th. Clearly, comparing various data points, the new season’s BK Häcken has yet to display their most formidable fighting power.

This season, Elfsborg averages only 1.36 points per game. This contrasts significantly with their average of 2.13 points per game from last season. Elfsborg is known as a weak team away from home in the league. They have won only one and lost six of their seven away games so far. Apart from an early-season 1:0 victory over Västerås away from home, all six subsequent away games have ended in defeat for Elfsborg.

In their last game, BK Häcken defeated Västerås 2:1. Over the past five league rounds, BK Häcken has achieved 2 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses. They lost to IFK Göteborg and Mjällby, drew with league leaders Malmö FF. Considering the strength of each opponent, BK Häcken’s performances have been neither surprising nor particularly disappointing. Elfsborg defeated Brommapojkarna by three goals in their previous round, offering them a chance to stabilize after a string of poor recent performances. In the past five rounds, Elfsborg has two wins and three losses. Both victories were achieved at home, while all three defeats came from away games. Their characteristic of being strong at home but weak away is evident.

According to statistics, the two teams have faced each other 40 times historically. BK Häcken has 11 wins, 13 draws, and 16 losses, slightly at a disadvantage. However, in the last five encounters, BK Häcken has achieved a dominant record of 2 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss against Elfsborg. Last season, BK Häcken defeated their opponents both home and away. Although in terms of historical head-to-head results from further back, BK Häcken was inferior to their opponents, considering recent form, BK Häcken holds a significant advantage.

One similarity between the two teams is that they both lack a super striker. The top scorer for BK Häcken is Eno Sarai and Lindeberg, who have scored 4 goals each, while Elfsborg’s top scorer is Bai Diao and Hedenlund, who have scored 5 goals each. Indeed, neither team’s attacking ability can be considered too poor, which indicates that the goal distribution for both teams is quite even, with 10 and 9 players respectively scoring at least one goal. In terms of injuries, the return time for Häcken’s Raulson may be around late July, while Brusberg is highly likely to miss this game due to injury. Elfsborg’s squad is relatively intact, with manageable injuries. However, the fact of six consecutive away defeats means the team desperately needs a win to reverse their downturn in away form.

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