Lillestrom vs Odd

Lillestrom is experiencing trouble both on and off the pitch these days which naturally leaves them in a horrible situation as a club at the moment. A total 5-8-9 this season has put them on the edge of relegation with a 13th place, but only a slightly better goal difference than 14th placed Aalesund, leaves the club over the line for now. Lillestrom managed to get three straight draws before the national break last weekend including a strong comeback against Viking (2-2) last time out.

The club came behind twice, but was still able to fight their way back into the game which is a factor they desperately need to keep onto when going ahead. The long row of weak results this season has resulted in several meetings higher up on whether the coach Runar Krisitinsson should be sacked or not. That has not been helpful to the players’ focus on the pitch during the recent months, and the club has taken criticism for its handling of that case.


Odd was marked as the only club that could challenge Rosenborg for the title some months back as the 2nd place seemed theirs. Odd was only two points behind the league leaders at the best, but it has taken a sudden turn for the challengers lately. 1-2-4 is their horrible statistics since July 17th which has brought their top 3 position to a huge test right now. With Brann taking a point yesterday against Viking (0-0), Odd is now in 3rd place with four teams still possible to go pass them if Odd should lose tonight.

Their current situation was stated in their last game against Valerenga (1-2). It was a game where Valerenga had several important absentees, but Odd still did not manage to take control at home. It now seems like everything is falling apart, just when it all counts the most. As the bad form is not enough, their important central back Fredrik Semb Berge (18/4) is out after a knee-operation and top scorer Olivier Occean (21/8) is suspended.

It is two teams that struggle heavily at the moment that faces each other tonight and both teams need three points in each end of the table. Lillestrom is still the team that needs them the most given their possible relegation after over 40 years in Norway’s highest division. It is therefore tempting to give Lillestrom the edge here, but Odd has still the better squad despite their missing here.

Semb Berge is naturally replaced by Lars Kristian Eriksen (7/0), while Occean is a tougher one to replace. However, the nerve in this game will be fantastic and I expect the importance of the game to bring goals to each side. I expect an open match with three goals at Åråasen Stadion tonight.
Bet: Over 2.5 goals @1.7