Fredrikstad
- Fredrikstad are unbeaten in five pre-season warm-ups, with wins over Elfsborg and Jerv, and draws against Lillestrøm and KFUM.
- Hagen’s men have scored in several pre-season games while rotating the squad, and they are solid at the back and create enough chances, too.
Sarpsborg
Sarpsborg enjoyed three consecutive friendly wins but lost 0-2 to Viking last weekend.
Head-to-Head
Both of these teams finished mid-table in the Norwegian top flight last season and their head-to-head record is very similar, with Fredrikstad enjoying the better of the pair in recent years.
Fredrikstad
- Oskar Øhlenschlæger has been their most creative force, pulling the strings in the middle, while Henrik Skogvold leads the line well and can be trusted to finish off chances in the box.
- Rocco Shein and Sondre Sørløkk will dictate the tempo in central midfield and are the glue that holds the team together, allowing the youngsters to play with freedom.
Sarpsborg
- Daniel Karlsbakk is their main man up top and should get through on goal often as his side look to build off turnovers, while Sondre Sørli provides the width and creativity from the right to get Sarpsborg forward and stretch the game.
- Keeper Mamour Ndiaye will need to be on his game on Sunday to thwart Fredrikstad’s set-piece prowess and aerial dominance, but their defensive absences of Sander Kvile and Tobias Nysveen could be key, too.
Betting Insights
Andreas Hagen’s Fredrikstad are narrow 2.16 favourites to win the game, with Sarpsborg 3.07 and the draw 3.6 , which seems like a slight overestimate of the home side’s advantage.
Prediction
- So this clash of styles - with Fredrikstad being compact in the centre of midfield, getting numbers behind the ball quickly and relying on wing-backs to cover while Sarpsborg move in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 structure - should be fascinating and could be decided by which team gets the most joy in transition.
- Fredrikstad to stay unbeaten
