Preview: Malmo vs. Halmstads BK – prediction, team news, lineups

After a month-long break, league leaders Malmo FF will resume to their Swedish Allsvenskan campaign when they face Halmstads BK at Eleda Stadium.

The Sky Blues sit comfortably atop the table with 32 points, while their visitors occupy seventh place with 18 points.

Match preview

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Malmo resume their quest for a 24th Swedish top-flight title, boasting a near-perfect season so far, having secured 10 wins from 13 matches played.

Henrik Rydstrom‘s side have only dropped points on three occasions – a 3-1 defeat at Elfsborg, a 2-2 draw with Hacken, and another 2-2 stalemate against Brommapojkarna in their most recent league outing.

Despite these minor setbacks, Malmo still lead second-placed Djurgarden by seven points, though they would have hoped for more having played one extra game.

Malmo’s home form has been impeccable this campaign, winning all six matches at Eleda Stadium, scoring 16 goals while conceding just one – a run Rydstrom will hope his side continues when they host Halmstads on Sunday.

The last time the hosts lost this fixture was in 2008 – since then, they remain unbeaten in 21 meetings, currently riding a three-match winning streak against the visitors.

A convincing 2-0 victory over Lyngby in a friendly match on June 28 suggests Malmo have not been fazed by the break and remain a near-perfect team.

Halmstads ended a two-match losing streak in the Allsvenskan with an impressive 4-0 victory over GAIS in their last league outing.

The result propelled Magnus Haglund‘s side to seventh position in the league standings, five points behind third-placed Mjallby, having played one fewer game.

Alongside GAIS and fourth-placed Hammarby, Halmstads are the only team in the Allsvenskan yet to experience a draw in 2024, but a point against the league leaders would be a welcome result for them.

However, Halmstads’ away form paints a different picture, as they have only managed two wins in six matches on the road, losing the remaining four, including the last three consecutive away fixtures.

Malmo Swedish Allsvenskan form:

Halmstads BK Swedish Allsvenskan form:

Team News

Malmo are going to be without centre-back Derek Cornelius, who is currently away on national duty with Canada in the 2024 Copa America.

Another defender, Anton Tinnerholm, sidelined with a groin injury, while midfielders Joseph Ceesay and Stefano Vecchia are also recovering from injuries.

Isaac Kiese Thelin leads the top scorer’s chart with 10 goals in 12 matches and he will be hoping to pick up from where he stopped in Malmo’s last league outing.

The visitors will remain without centre-back Andreas Johansson, who picked up a leg injury after three matches in the Allsvenskan season.

Joseph Baffo is expected to continue his partnership with Gabriel Wallentin in the heart of the defence once again, after the pair kept a clean sheet in the last league outing.

Malmo possible starting lineup:
Dahlin; Larsen, Jansson, Makolli, Busanello; Johnsen, Pena; Botheim, Nanasi, Bolin; Thelin

Halmstads BK possible starting lineup:
Erlandsson; Ofosu-Ayeh, Wallentin, Baffo, Nogueira; Eyjolfsson, Svedberg, Al-Ammari, Granath; Ingason, Mohammed

We say: Malmo 2-0 Halmstads BK

Malmo have been almost impregnable at home this season, and their attacking force will be too much for Halmstad to cope with, and that is why we are predicting a comfortable win for the hosts, possibly with another clean sheet.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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