Start vs Sandefjord Prediction & Betting Tips

Recent form tells two different stories

Over their last 20 matches, Start have won just four, drawn three and lost thirteen, shipping 45 goals against 21 scored. That's a heavy goal difference and points to a side that's been leaking chances regularly.

Start: 20 completed matches; Sandefjord: 20 completed matches.

Start

20 matches

Win

20% 4 / 20

Draw

15% 3 / 20

Loss

65% 13 / 20

Scored

21

Conceded

45

Difference

-24

Sandefjord

20 matches

Win

30% 6 / 20

Draw

30% 6 / 20

Loss

40% 8 / 20

Scored

23

Conceded

26

Difference

-3

Sandefjord's equivalent run reads six wins, six draws and eight losses, with 23 scored and 26 conceded. It's a much tighter picture, closer to a mid-table side than a struggling one. Notably, both teams' most recent match in this sample was against each other, which we'll come back to.

Sandefjord's recent numbers look more solid across the board than Start's.

Comparative Team Statistics: Start vs Sandefjord

A meeting fresh in the memory

These two played each other in the league only days before this preview was written, with Sandefjord winning 3-0 away from home. There was also a friendly between them back in March this year, which Sandefjord won 3-2.

Further back, the head-to-head record is mixed and stretches to 2018, including narrow wins and draws on both sides. That older history doesn't tell us much about current form, but the recent competitive result is the more relevant data point here.

A seven-point gap in the table

Sandefjord sit 11th with 23 points from 21 games, while Start are 16th with 16 points from the same number of matches. That's a seven-point gap between two sides who aren't actually that far apart in the wider table picture we have.

We don't have the full league table here, so it's worth being careful about calling Start's position anything more specific than lower than Sandefjord's.

Cards and discipline worth watching

Start's E. Reitan has picked up seven yellow cards in 20 appearances this season, and teammate O. Toure has four yellows and two reds in 19 games. That's a fair few disciplinary incidents for one squad.

Start:

Penalty cards:

O. Toure x 2 x 4

A. Ujkani x 1 x 2

E. Reitan x 7

Sandefjord:

Penalty cards:

J. Vester x 2 x 2

Sandefjord's J. Vester also has two red cards in just 13 matches, so it's not only a Start issue. None of this confirms who will or won't be available for this specific fixture, but it's a pattern both sides will want to tidy up.