IF elfsborg vs Malmo FF Prediction & Betting Tips

Recent form: Elfsborg steady, Malmo up and down

Elfsborg's last 20 matches across competitions read 8 wins, 7 draws and 5 losses, with 28 scored and only 19 conceded. That's a tidy defensive record for a side in this sort of run. Their most recent five league games have gone four wins and a draw, so the shape looks solid right now.

IF elfsborg: 20 completed matches; Malmo FF: 20 completed matches.

IF elfsborg

20 matches

Win

40% 8 / 20

Draw

35% 7 / 20

Loss

25% 5 / 20

Scored

28

Conceded

19

Difference

+9

Malmo FF

20 matches

Win

45% 9 / 20

Draw

15% 3 / 20

Loss

40% 8 / 20

Scored

37

Conceded

31

Difference

+6

Malmo's equivalent stretch shows 9 wins, 3 draws and 8 losses, with 37 scored but 31 conceded. They can score goals, but they've also shipped plenty, including a heavy 0-3 home defeat to Djurgardens and a first-minute-type collapse in the cup before bouncing back with a 4-1 win over Orgryte. It's a stop-start pattern rather than a settled one.

Elfsborg look the more consistent side of the two coming into this, though form a month out can shift before kickoff.

Comparative Team Statistics: IF elfsborg vs Malmo FF

Head-to-head: honours shared over the years

These two have met regularly down the years and it's been fairly even overall, but the last two meetings have gone Elfsborg's way or been drawn. Elfsborg won 2-1 away at Malmo in July, and the meeting before that, in September last year, finished 2-2 at Elfsborg's ground.

Go back further and Malmo have had spells of dominance, including a 6-0 win in 2017, so the long-term record shouldn't be read as a guide to where either side is right now.

League table: Elfsborg sit well clear

Elfsborg are fourth on 37 points from 22 games, with 10 wins, 7 draws and 5 losses. Malmo are seventh on 33 points from the same number of matches, with 10 wins but 9 losses. Elfsborg's goal difference is notably better too, having conceded 22 to Malmo's 33.

Both sides have an identical win count, so the gap really comes down to how many games each has lost and how tight things have been at the back.

Key men: Botheim carrying Malmo's goal threat

Malmo's top scorer this season is E. Botheim with 10 goals in 19 appearances, a healthy return given the team's mixed results. S. Hakšabanović has chipped in with 6 assists, so their attacking output isn't just down to one man.

IF elfsborg:

Best scorers:

L. Östman - 6

Malmo FF:

Best scorers:

E. Botheim - 10

Best assist providers:

S. Hakšabanović - 6

O. Rosengren - 4

Penalty cards:

M. Pålsson x 1 x 1

O. Rosengren x 6

K. Busuladžić x 6

On the Elfsborg side, the available data points to a squad picking up a fair few yellow cards, with O. Rosengren and K. Busuladžić both on 6 apiece. There's no confirmed injury news for either side at this stage, and with the match still a month away from when this is written, team news is likely to firm up closer to kickoff.