The 2017 Allsvenskan season is well underway and every team has played 17 or 18 matches. This means we already have a clear view of which sides will be competing at both ends of the table with a few teams still in the running for the title as Swedish champions and the same amount trying to get out of trouble at the bottom of the table. One of the teams pushing for the title is AIK, who are currently 2^nd with a nine-point gap between themselves and Malmo at the top. Their upcoming opponents, Goteborg, are in 11^th and aren’t in any real danger of relegation.

STATS

• Goteborg have had a very average season so far and their recent form sums this up perfectly. They have won two, lost two and drawn two of their last six games and this form looks like it will secure them a mid-table finish. They were narrowly edged in their last game against Kalmar FF as they lost 1-0 to the relegation candidates.
• AIK haven’t been as good this season as they would have liked as they have dropped behind their rivals, Malmo in the race for the top spot. They’ve won three of their last five games as well as losing and drawing one which isn’t ideal for a side trying to catch a team nine points ahead of them. However, they did comfortably beat Sirius in their last league game with a 4-1 score line.
• Tobias Hysen is Goteborg’s leading goal scorer in the league so far this season as he has managed six goals in 17 matches. Although it isn’t a great return for the striker, he is the 5^th highest scorer in the league.
• AIK have struggled massively for goals this season and this shows in the fact that they have only scored 19 goals in the league this season after 17 games. Their leading scorer is Henok Goitom with a low tally of four goals.

HEAD TO HEAD

While AIK have been one of the Allsvenskan’s best teams in recent years, it is Goteborg that have dominated the meetings between the two. In the last eight games, AIK have only won once while Goteborg have been brilliant with six wins, it’s a fixture that they look forward to every year.

GOTEBORG NEWS

The hosts can move into 9^th place with a win over AIK and with a game-in-hand on top of this, they could potentially be propelled into the top five even though that is very unlikely. They are missing two players for the match as their first-choice goalkeeper, John Alvbage as well as defender, Benjamin Yapi Zalo are both unavailable for the match.

Latest matches: IFK Gothenburg

06.08.2017	Alls	Kalmar FF	IFK Gothenburg	1:0	L
30.07.2017	Alls	IFK Gothenburg	IFK Norrkoping	4:1	W
23.07.2017	Alls	IFK Gothenburg	Orebro SK	2:2	D
16.07.2017	Alls	Orebro SK	IFK Gothenburg	4:2	L
10.07.2017	Alls	IFK Gothenburg	Halmstads BK	1:1	D

AIK NEWS

If AIK lose this one, they could see the gap between themselves and Malmo stretch to 12 points, which would make their chances of winning the title very slim. They don’t have any players unavailable for the clash so switching the line-up isn’t something that needs to be considered.

Latest matches: AIK

06.08.2017	Alls	IK Sirius FK	AIK	1:4	W
03.08.2017	UEFA	Sporting Braga	AIK	2:1	L
30.07.2017	Alls	AIK	Kalmar FF	0:1	L
27.07.2017	UEFA	AIK	Sporting Braga	1:1	D
20.07.2017	UEFA	AIK	FK Zeljeznicar	2:0	W

SUMMARY

With their superior squad, it is certainly AIK’s match to lose but Goteborg won’t roll over easily with their home support behind them. On reflection, it doesn’t look like it will be a clear cut victory for the visitors but they will be very disappointed if they lose.