We preview week 12 of the Eliteserien (Norweigan top tier) League.
It’s that time of the year where football’s mainstream leagues go into hibernation, leaving punters to look elsewhere for their bets. It also leaves us sports writer’s with a rather uncomfortable situation; pack it in for a few months or look elsewhere for our literary fix. We’ve opted for the latter and will be looking at some of the world’s more undistinguished leagues in the coming weeks. And while we’re probably all going to struggle to get used to some of the teams, players and managers names, we should be in for a fun few weeks.
So my league of choice for the off-season is the Norwegian League which has been dominated by Rosenberg. The current league leaders face an away trip to Stromgodset this Sunday, but unfortunately, I won’t be covering Rosenberg’s game this week as their opponents are involved in midweek action, which sees them take on Viking. There’s still some great value on offer, however, so fret not football fans.
Here’s a quick synopsis of the Eliteserien for you:
Norway’s top tier contains 16 sides with the bottom two sides being automatically relegated and the 14th-placed finishers having to face a promotion/relegation play-off. While the top three sides all get a shot at European participation, there is no automatic qualifying spot for either the Champions League or Europa League – the Eliteserien winners advance to the Second Round of the Champions League qualifiers while the second and third place finishers, along with the Cup winners, advance to the qualifying rounds of the Europa League.
In terms of this year’s league, there have been 11 gameweeks thus far and Rosenberg have made the best start to the campaign winning six of their 11 matches while drawing four. They are followed by Brann and Sarpsborg, who both sit three points off the table-toppers. At the other end of the table, Viking (16th), Stromgodset (15th) and Sandefjord (14th) occupy the relegation places.
Saturday 3 June
Tromso 23/20 | Draw 47/20 | Vaerenga 43/20
The first fixture we’ll take a look at is between ninth-placed Tromso and eight-placed Vaerenga. The hosts have scored 13 goals in their opening 11 games while conceding 17. Vaerenga have almost identical stats with the only difference being that they have conceded one less than their opponents.
A lot of my Eliteserien verdicts are going to stem solely from stats and I quite like the numbers here. I’m pretty confident we’ll see both sides get on the score sheet. So, back the Both Teams to Score – Yes – market at 13/20.
Stabeek 19/20 | Draw 5/2 | Lillestrom 5/2
Next up its fifth-placed Stabeek versus 13th-placed Lillestrom. I actually am rather familiar with the latter having turned them into one of the leading clubs in Europe during my FIFA 2013 managerial campaign. I promise that’s the last lame joke you’ll have to endure.
On to the matter at hand, and it seems Lillestrom are really struggling at the back. The visitors are conceding at an average of just over 1.5 goals per game, which will be extremely worrying considering the hosts have already netted 17 goals in their eleven fixtures. My hard earned cash is on the home win at 19/20!
Sunday 4 June
Aalesund 21/20 | Draw 49/20 | FK Haugesund 47/20
Moving onto Sunday’s games now and first up is a clash between Aalesund and FK Haugesund. The former have gotten off to a solid enough start winning five of their eleven fixtures while drawing three. Their opponents, on the other hand, are only two points off the promotion/relegation trapdoor and will be eager to pull away from the dreaded relegation zone as swiftly as possible.
This is another game where I can’t help but think we will see goals in. My advice here is to get on the Totals – Over 2.5 Goals – market, which is available at 7/10.
Sarpsborg 21/20 | Draw 24/10 | Molde 47/20
Free-scoring Sarpsborg plays the role of hosts this week to a team that also set up to attack And with only four points separating the hosts and visitors Molde, this could be a rather key match despite it still being rather early in the season.
Both of these teams have been scoring goals for fun and the smart money is on them continuing the trend by producing a high-scoring affair this weekend. Get on the Totals – Over 2.5 Goals – market at 8/10.
Sogndal 19/20 | Draw 24/10 | Sandefjord 11/4
Our penultimate fixture for the gameweek 14th-placed Sandefjord travel to the municipality of Sogn od Fjordane to take on Sogndal. The visitors currently occupy the ninth spot on the log while the hosts sit two points off them in 11th-place.
Sandefjord have been in great form in recent weeks winning their last two fixtures. My money is on them making that three on the trot. Get on at a solid 11/4.
Odds BK 11/10 | Draw 9/4 | Brann 23/10
We close out the gameweek with a clash between two of the teams in the top four. The hosts for the final fixture of this preview currently sit in fourth place and have won their last three fixtures, while the visitors sit in second and come into this one off the back of successive draws.
Odds BK have been rather resilient at the back only conceding eleven goals at an average of a goal per game. And while Bran have been sensational in front of goal thus far, it must be noted that the majority of their goals have come against teams inside the bottom five. I suspect we’re in for a cagey affair here which makes the Totals – Under 2.5 Goals – market a rather attractive prospect at 15/20.
Written by Darry Worthington for @Hollywoodbets.net!
