Home and Away: Goteborg to heap further misery on bottom side Osters

31May 2013

Betfair

Jonno Turner previews action in Sweden and Ireland as he looks to end the week with a bang...

We're off to Sweden for our penultimate pick of the week - and focusing on action in the Allsvenskan, as in-form IFK Goteborg travel to Osters.

The visitors will line up for this clash high in confidence following three league games unbeaten on the bounce, and boss Mikael Stahre will be keen for his side to build on that positive run here.

Goteborg won the Swedish Cup last week following a penalties victory over Djurgardens, and will now be keen to translate that success to their league campaign.

And just one loss from nine away from the Ullevi suggests that the Blavitt are more than capable of taking maximum points from this clash - and piling the pressure on league leaders Helsingborg, who currently sit two points ahead of them.

Seventeen goals scored in their last nine on the road indicates that much of the away side's threat lies in the final third, and their influential attacker Tobias Hysen in particular will be looking to add to his current haul of five notches this campaign.

Hosts Osters go into this one in miserable form, and have lost their last seven straight outings in all competitions.

Half a dozen goals shipped in their last two games points to weaknesses in the home defence, and that will be something that the visitors look to take advantage of.

That leaves the newly promoted Vaxjo side sitting bottom of the table, and boss Andreas Thomsson will be keen for his charges to engineer a turnaround as soon as possible.

But a visit from a Goteborg side full of momentum is far from what the home side - already struggling to adjust to life in the top tier - would want at this point in the season, and I think that we will see Stahre's side come up trumps at the Myresjohus Arena tonight.

Bet 1: IFK Goteborg (AWAY) @ 2.04

Switching our sights to Ireland now, as Bray Wanderers host First Division Mervue United in the FAI Cup.

The home side go into this cup clash full of confidence following four Premier League games unbeaten, and boss Keith Long will be keen for his side to maintain that form as they prepare for a tricky encounter with lower league Mervue.

A 3-2 victory over Drogheda in their last home outing will have boosted morale down at the Carlisle Grounds, and the Seagulls will be looking to book their place in the next round of this competition tonight.

Visitors Mervue United travel to County Wicklow in poor form - and have lost their last three on the bounce.

In the bigger picture, Johnny Glynn's side have not won in five away from Fahy's Field - and that is not the best preparation for a visit to their Premier League opponents.

When the away side travelled to top tier Sligo last week for a League Cup tie, they were dismantled in a 4-0 defeat - and I reckon that Bray's quality will be too much for them to handle here.

Bet 2: Bray (HOME) @ 1.6