Elfsborg vs Halmstad prediction 24.05.2024

• Competition: Allsvenskan
• Date: Friday, 24th May, 2024
• Kickoff: 18:00 UK / 19:00 CEST
• Venue: Borås Arena (Borås)

In most European countries, football season is coming to an end. But in Sweden, the season began only about two months ago. In one of the games, last season's vice-champion, Elfsborg, will welcome Halmstad at Borås Arena in Borås.

Elfsborg last year blew a massive opportunity to win the seventh Allsvenskan title, losing it due to a worse goal difference. This year, the Yellow Ones did not have the best start. In the Svenska Cup, they failed to reach the second stage of the competition after finishing 2nd in a pretty easy group with Degerfors, GAIS, and Orgryte. And in the Allsvenskan, they are only 9th, already 12 points away from the league's leader, Malmo. 

In the previous decade, Halmstad traveled between Allsvenskan and Superettan, and whenever they secured survival in Allsvenskan, they were very close to the danger zone. This year, they had an excellent season, at least by their standards. In the Svenska Cup, they reached the Semi-Finals, and in the league, they hold 7th place - only three points away from the European spots! However, it seems they are slowing down, as they lost three of the last four matches. 

Elfsborg vs Halmstad pick: Over 2.5 goals

Elfsborg is one of the best teams in the league for this type of bet, considering they were over 2.5 goals in seven of ten (70%) Allsvenskan games. At home, that number is even higher, as four of their five matches finished with at least three goals. The main reason for it is a really good offensive performance. They scored 14 goals in five home games, and scoring at least two or three goals against out-of-form Halmstad is a completely real scenario. On the other hand, we do not trust their defense as they only had one clean sheet at home and two in total. 

Halmstad are in poor form, having lost three of the last four matches. However, they are scoring pretty regularly, and it seems they are the most dangerous when they play against good teams and they can play on counter-attacks. We saw that scenario against Hacken when they won 3:0 while having just 28% ball possession and against Hammarby when they won 2:1 on 25% ball possession. Against Elfsborg on the road, they will surely try to play on counter-attacks, and we believe they are the most dangerous in that situation. 

In the last two h2h games at Boras Arena, we saw seven and five goals, both times with both teams scoring. Considering all the above, we expect another high-scoring game with both teams scoring.