Preview: FK Haugesund vs. Rosenborg - prediction, team news, lineups

Thanks to three consecutive victories heading into the weekend, the visitors sit ninth in Norway's top flight, four points ahead of their 11th-placed hosts.

Match preview

After a 10th-placed finish in the Eliteserien last term, FK Haugesund have experienced another tough campaign this time around, having found themselves in the bottom six throughout the first half of the year.

In their opening eight outings between mid-April and the end of May, Jostein Grindhaug's side managed just six points courtesy of one victory and three draws before suffering back-to-back defeats at the hands of Sunday's opponents and Tromso.

They have, at least, been able to improve their fortunes somewhat since though, having picked up four more wins from their latest eight league games, with the most recent of those being a 1-0 triumph at home to in-form Lillestrom, thanks to Soren Reese's 76th-minute goal.

Aiming to build on that and make it back-to-back victories for just the second time this term, the Seagulls then travelled to Sarpsborg last Sunday, and despite going ahead early through an Anton Skipper own goal, they would leave empty-handed as Victor Torp levelled the game in the 52nd minute and Bjorn Inge Utvik netted the winner for the hosts 12 minutes from time.

Such a result saw Grindhaug's men remain 11th in the Eliteserien, with a two-point gap up to Stromsgodset and just a five-point lead over the bottom three, and they will be desperate to establish some consistency in the coming weeks to ensure they are not dragged further back into the relegation fight.

They meet a Rosenborg side who have been able to gain ground in the battle at the bottom end of the table in recent weeks, after enduring a tough start to the campaign.

Following their third-placed finish last time around, earning them a place in Europa Conference League qualifying, the Troillongan picked up just 13 points from their opening 13 games of the new Eliteserien campaign, sitting 12th as a result.

They have been able to bounce back in impressive fashion, though, firstly ending a run of three straight defeats with a 2-1 victory over Tromso, before picking up a 1-0 win away at Stromsgodset thanks to Sverre Nypan's 22nd-minute goal.

After drawing 2-2 away at Northern Irish outfit Crusaders in the first leg of their Europa Conference League second-qualifying-round tie, Svein Maalen's side were most recently in league action at home to Odd last Sunday, and they made it three on the bounce in the Eliteserien, coming from 2-0 down to win 3-2 as Ole Saeter netted a second-half brace to level the contest before Ulrik Jenssen scored the decisive goal in the 71st minute.

Now on the back of another 3-2 home victory in their reverse fixture against Crusaders, in which Jayden Nelson opened the scoring and Isak Thorvaldsson and Leo Cornic made the difference in extra time to see their side advance further in qualifying, the Troillongan will hope to keep building momentum in the league with the chance to climb as high as seventh if they can manage a fourth straight top-flight victory.

FK Haugesund Norwegian Eliteserien form:

L

W

L

L

W

L

Rosenborg Norwegian Eliteserien form:

L

L

L

W

W

W

Rosenborg form (all competitions):

L

W

W

D

W

W

Team News

FK Haugesund were without attacker Bilal Njie for their trip to Sarpsborg last time out, and if he remains sidelined, Julius Eskesen and Sory Ibrahim Diarra should again lead the line in a 5-3-2 shape.

Soren Reese and Anders Baertelsen are mainstays at the heart of the defence and should again be joined by Kevin Krygard, while Oscar Krusnell and Peter Therkildsen should both keep their places at left and right-back respectively.

Magnus Christensen is a key figure in the engine room, with Mads Sande likely playing alongside him and looking to lend support to the front line.

Rosenborg's starting XI should be similar to the one that was fielded in their game against Odd last weekend, with Ole Saeter bound to again lead the line after netting a brace in that victory to take his tally to four league goals for the season in just six appearances.

He will likely be flanked by Carlo Holse and Jayden Nelson in a front three, although Isak Thorvaldsson will hope to earn a place in the starting lineup after his crucial goal in extra time against Crusaders in midweek.

Ulrik Jenssen and Erlend Reitan are bound to again start at the heart of the back four, while Santeri Vaananen and Edvard Tagseth will keep their places in a midfield trio.

FK Haugesund possible starting lineup:

Selvik; Therkildsen, Krygard, Reese, Baertelsen, Krusnell; Sande, Christensen, Leite; Eskesen, Diarra

Rosenborg possible starting lineup:

Hansen; Cornic, Reitan, Jenssen, Pereira; Nypan, Vaananen, Tagseth; Holse, Saeter, Nelson

We say: FK Haugesund 1-2 Rosenborg

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