It’s fourth against fifth in the Norwegian top flight this weekend, with two of the Eliteserien’s early-season hopefuls locking horns at the Aker Stadion.
Molde entertain Viking on Sunday afternoon, with only two points separating the teams, although the visitors have a game in hand on the home side
Can Viking leapfrog Molde with a win? Or will the hosts extend their lead in the standings? Keep reading to discover what Forebet’s AI algorithm predicts for Sunday’s showdown.
En siste test før pausen venter 👊🏻 pic.twitter.com/FZOcQI87ci— Viking Fotball (@vikingfotball) May 30, 2024
En siste test før pausen venter 👊🏻 pic.twitter.com/FZOcQI87ci
Let’s start by looking at the hosts, Molde, who claimed a 3-1 victory over Brann last time out, despite seeing just 33% possession.
Molde have now won two of their previous three Eliteserien matches, with a solitary defeat coming in their last five clashes across all competitions.
When you look at the bigger picture, Molde have lost just three of their 11 league outings this season, picking up six wins and two draws along the way.
It is also worth noting Molde boast the second-best offensive record in the Norwegian top flight, having scored 23 goals in 11 games (2.1 goals per game).
As for Viking, they claimed a dominant 3-0 victory over HamKam last time out, racking up 69% possession and 20 shots in the rout.
Viking have now won four of their previous five Eliteserien matches, making them one of the most in-form teams in the division.
Although Viking have scored seven goals fewer than Molde this term, they have conceded three fewer, giving them the third-best defensive record in the league.
Having lost just one of their last eight Eliteserien encounters, the visitors will fancy their chances of frustrating the hosts on Sunday.
Head-to-head: Molde have won eight of their last 12 league meetings with Viking, scoring exactly four goals in each of the previous three encounters.
To make matters worse for Viking, they have conceded over 1.5 goals in each of their last 12 Eliteserien matches against Molde.
Team news: Molde’s Magnus Wolff Eikrem sits second in the Eliteserien scoring charts, having netted seven goals in 10 appearances this season.
As for Viking, no player has chalked up more goal involvements than Zlatko Tripic, who has bagged four goals and six assists in 2024.
Although Molde have enjoyed plenty of success in this fixture in recent years, in-form Viking have a ton of momentum behind them right now.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Viking will score over 2.5 goals on their way to defeating Molde, claiming their fifth victory in six league games.