Norway Tippeligaen – Stabaek v Brann Preview (17/7/16)

Stabaek preview

So Stabaek sacked Billy McKinlay and immediately saw an improvement in form. They produced a really good performance away at Lillestrom to win 2-1, and in truth they shouldve won by a bigger margin. I’m sure that win would’ve given everyone a real confidence boost ahead of this match and maybe some belief is back within the squad again. Stabaek seemed much more organised tactically last week and their transitions between defence and attack were impressive. Right now there are still plenty of questions that remain with them though. I think we need to see a few more games to see how they settle overall to the departure of McKinlay. The fans should be back on their side at least, and the Stabaek faithful are really passionate, making this a tough place to visit.
Brann preview

Brann claimed a stunning 4-1 come from behind win against Valerenga last week. For a team known for its struggles in front of goal it was quite a shock to see them look so dangerous, and score so many goals! Maybe they’ve now shot their entire load for the rest of the month! The key to Brann’s success this season has been a really solid defence. They’ve kept a large amount of clean sheets and been pretty difficult to penetrate. However, two regular starters are doubtful because of injury here, left back Kristiansen and centre back Demidov. Maybe that could potentially affect them negatively and destabilise their strong backline. Brann have lost all of their last four away games 0-1 and have been struggling on the road of late.

Conclusion & Betting analysis

There are some tough games to predict this weekend in Norway and this is another. If Stabaek continue to ride new manager syndrome then they’ll have a good chance here, especially as Brann have been woeful on the road of late. Although, is losing four consecutive away games 0-1 really that bad? On another day they might’ve drawn a couple of those. I don’t have a feeling either way here so I’ll predict a draw. If I had to stick my neck out then I’d say a lower scoring sort of game, either team could maybe win this 1-0. It’s definitely not a game I want to commit anything to and I’ll happily leave it alone.

Prediction: 1-1
Recommended bet: None