Moldevs.Elfsborg

The home side entered in the competition in the second qualifying round and saw off Cercle Brugge in the third, while the Swedish visitors entered in the first round and beat Rijeka 3-1 on aggregate in their last tie.

Match preview

Though the hosts lost 1-0 in the second leg of the Europa League's third qualifying round on August 15, their 3-0 win against Cercle Brugge in the first leg on August 8 was enough to see them through.

MFK were dominant in their 3-0 win, and ended the game with 53% possession, 15 shots and eight on target, in contrast to one attempt on target from Cercle Brugge.

In truth, Molde faced little resistance in the second leg after opposition midfielder Abu Francis was sent off after just 30 minutes.

After 18 out of 30 matches in the Norwegian top flight this season, Molde are fourth with 31 points and are averaging 1.72 points per game, slightly more than the 1.7 they averaged last term.

Boss Erling Moe will be aware that his current side are still short of their 2022 title-winning team that accumulated 78 points, but he does at least have the opportunity to guide the club into the group stage of the Europa League for the second consecutive season.

Molde come into the clash having lost four of their previous seven matches, though they are unbeaten in their last four home games in the Europa League, and won three of those fixtures.

Opponents Elfsborg would have had a clean sweep of six victories from their three qualifying ties had they not drawn 1-1 against Rijeka in their first-leg tie on August 8.

It should be noted that Di Gule were able to hold out for a draw despite being forced to play with 10 players from the 56th minute after Jalal Abdullai was sent off with the scoreline at 1-1.

The second leg was a close affair, with Elfsborg only taking the lead in the 68th minute after forward Michael Baidoo took advantage of an error in the Rijeka backline.

Ahmed Qasem scored their second of the game in 83rd minute from close range after Di Gule countered at speed and combined well in the penalty area.

Elfsborg will be pleased with their performance in the Europa League considering they are currently seventh in the Swedish top flight with 29 points from 19 games.

In fairness to manager Oscar Hiljemark, his side are unbeaten in their last five away matches and have won nine of their last 12 games in all competitions.

Molde Europa League form:

W

L

W

L

Molde form (all competitions):

W

L

L

W

W

L

Elfsborg Europa League form:

W

W

W

W

D

W

Elfsborg form (all competitions):

L

W

D

W

W

D

Team News

Molde forwards Fredrik Gulbrandsen and Veton Berisha are expected to be out until late August with injuries.

Moe could name a similar team on Thursday to the one that started in his side's 3-0 win against Cercle Brugge, and goalscorers Martin Linnes, Magnus Wolff Eikrem and Kristian Eriksen may retain their places.

As for the visitors, centre-back Gustav Henriksson is a doubt after he missed his side's most recent match against Mjallby.

Buhari Ibrahim could start instead of Henriksson, and he may be joined by fellow centre-backs Sebastian Holmen and Terry Yegbe.

Molde possible starting lineup:

Posiadala; Oyvann, Hagelskjaer, Lund; Linnes, Kaasa, Daehli, Breivik, Lovik; Eikrem, Eriksen

Elfsborg possible starting lineup:

Pettersson; Yegbe, Ibrahim, Holmen; Hedlund, Zeneli, Ouma, Hult; Qasem, Baidoo, Frick

We say: Molde 1-1 Elfsborg

Although Molde were more dominant in their third qualifying round than Elfsborg were in theirs, it is difficult to ignore the visitors' strong form in recent matches.

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