Preview: Molde vs. Sarpsborg 08 - prediction, team news, lineups

Meanwhile, the away side head into this weekend's contest aiming to avoid a fourth consecutive defeat and get their league campaign back on track.

Match preview

Molde had far too much quality for Valerenga as they claimed an emphatic 4-0 victory when the sides went face to face at the Intility Arena on Saturday.

Erling Moe's men broke the deadlock through Eric Kitolano after which strikes from Kristoffer Haugen and Kristian Eriksen further put them in the driving seat before Emil Breivik got in on the act.

As a result, Molde have moved up to fifth position in the Norwegian Eliteserien table albeit only just one point off the last European spot.

Next up is the task of facing off against an opposing outfit who have been beaten in each of the last four editions of this fixture by a combined score of 13-5.

Currently on a run of seven home wins on the bounce, Saturday's hosts have proven themselves to be a real force to reckon with in front of their fans.

Sarpsborg 08 were a tad unlucky to be on the receiving end of an agonising defeat against Ham-Kam in Sunday's 3-2 thriller at the Sarpsborg Stadion.

Stefan Billborn's men fell behind to Henrik Udahl's opener but managed to hit back through goals from Serge-Junior Ngouali and Ramon Lundqvist before John Norheim and Kristian Onsrud netted to turn the game on its head for a second time.

With 13 points picked up from their 14 matches so far, Sarpsborg sit bottom but one in the league standings, just two points clear of the bottom three despite playing one game more.

Having let in a whopping eight goals across their last two matches on the road, Saturday's visitors will be wary of being on the receiving end of another away thrashing.

Molde Norwegian Eliteserien form:

W

L

W

D

W

W

Sarpsborg 08 Norwegian Eliteserien form:

L

L

W

W

L

L

Team News

Molde's Martin Ellingsen remains sidelined with a long-term knee injury and the midfielder will not play any part in this weekend's contest.

Martin Linnes will be looking to deliver the goods once again after he put on a man-of-the-match performance in the last meeting against Saturday's opponents.

Magnar Odegaard and Joachim Thomassen are both unavailable for Sarpsborg through injury but the latter is drawing increasingly closer to a return to action.

Thirty-three-year-old Kristian Opseth has failed to score in any of his last three games for the visitors and he will be keen to rediscover his touch in front of goal.

Molde possible starting lineup:

Karlstrom; Haugan, Bjornbak, Hagelskjaer; Haugen, Breivik, Grodem, Eriksen, Knudtzon; Kitolano, Brynhildsen

Sarpsborg 08 possible starting lineup:

Kristiansen; Soltvedt; Skipper, Utvik, Wichne; Andersen, Martinsson; Tibbling, Torp, Maigaard; Lundqvist

We say: Molde 3-1 Sarpsborg 08

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