IK Start Kristiansand
- 16th placed IK Start Kristiansand and 13th placed Ham-Kam square off at Sparebanken Norge Arena, Kristiansand, Norway on Sunday afternoon knowing that every point is vital.
- Start have taken 16 points from 21 games in Eliteserien 2026 so far and will need to be at their best to take advantage of any slip-ups from the sides above them.
- The hosts come into this encounter in tidy form having won 3 and lost 2 of their last 5 fixtures.
- IK Start Kristiansand have won 3 and lost 2 of their last 5 games.
- Start have a 3-0 defeat away at Sandefjord in their most recent Eliteserien 2026 assignment.
Ham-Kam
- Ham-Kam are currently 13th in the table, they have 23 points from 21 matches, which does give them a little more breathing space in the race for survival than their hosts on Sunday.
- Ham-Kam have won 1, drawn 1 and lost 3 of their last 5 contests.
- Kamma have won 1, drawn 3 and lost 7 of their 11 away matches in the league in 2026, which tells us that this will be a tough assignment for Thomas Myhre's men.
Head-to-Head
- Start are the slight favorites in this contest and they have won their last 2 at home, so Sørlandets stolthet will have some belief in their ranks for this one.
- However, Ham-Kam took the last meeting between these two sides 2-1, so IK Start have something to prove here.
- They are well balanced, with a lot of their attacking and defensive potency coming from their wing-backs.
- They average 1.20 goals per home match in the Eliteserien this season and while that's not a high return, it could be enough if they show up on the day.
- Ham-Kam operate in a similar way to Start, with Myhre, who was appointed on 24 June 2025, often employing a 3-5-2 or 5-3-2 formation.
Betting Insights
- The home team look the likeliest winners on the odds, but Start have won just 3 of their 10 home matches in the Norwegian top flight this season and Ham-Kam have only won once away.
- Over 2.5 goals at 1.62 is a healthy option, but we'll squeeze under that and go with Both Teams To Score - Yes at 1.53 as our main selection.
Prediction
- The preview's main call is Both Teams To Score - Yes at 1.53, reflecting expectations of goals at both ends rather than a clear high-scoring affair.
- With Start slight favourites at home but a modest home record and Ham-Kam only winning once away, this feels like a tight, tense match where a single midfield battle could decide the outcome.
- Backing Both Teams To Score captures the preview's stance while acknowledging the contest may be frustrating for neutrals and decided by small margins.