AIK – Djurgården 12-02-2025

The Stockholm derby is so intense that you have to go to more southern latitudes to find similar emotions. It is so full of emotions and hatred that you don't let the away team's fans in. There have been far too many episodes throughout history for you to dare.

Djurgården was the team that before the season stated that they wanted to get into the SHL. While AIK went out cautiously, but have completely caught fire lately, and can be just as big favorites to get promoted from Hockeyallsvenskan. We will try to tell why we think AIK will win this match . Which would mean that they would then have 3 wins out of 4 matches against their fiercest competitor this season.

AIK – Djurgården is clearly the most interesting matchup in this division, and both teams probably belong more in the SHL than Hockeyallsvenskan.

AIK

AIK is on a real upswing these days. They are the form team ahead of some. The team now has 11 wins in a row. It has done something with the table position, and they have now climbed all the way up to 6th place. A place that gives them a direct place in the playoffs. It is probably a place they want to keep.

There are also a lot of other positive things happening in the club right now. In its plan to rebuild this club, the club has hired Lasse Johansson as the new sports director. He says in an interview on AIK's own website that he has faith in the organization and the way the team wants to rebuild itself. In the short term, he believes the club is on the right track, and hopes to continue the good trend the team is currently in. While in the long term, he is concerned that the team also adds more players from its own ranks, and that the work that is done in recruitment is just as important. When asked if he wants to make any reinforcements before a possible playoff, he says that then there really should be someone who fits. The club has received funds after a fundraising campaign from fans and sponsors, which seems to have become quite common in Swedish hockey. Is this to exploit the fans' great dedication to their clubs, or is it simply difficult to make ends meet? We think it is a bit of both.

Because there is no doubt that many clubs are struggling financially in the Swedish leagues. It is a problem that is widespread among many clubs. It is especially a tight squeeze to get up from Hockeyallsvenskan, and up to the SHL. So it is perhaps especially noticeable here. Because as in other sports around, it is in the top league that the money is. Then it is great with such derbies that create full halls, and much-needed kroner for the dwindling club coffers. This match has been sold out for a long time already, and it doesn't take many Google searches before you find out that it means a crazy atmosphere in this hall. Many old players refer to this being the hall of all that was the most difficult to get to when it is boiling.

In that sense, it's a good period for AIK now. There's a lot happening on many fronts, and the match on 15.02 against Modo is also about to sell out. The club will be celebrating its 134th anniversary, and a big family day is planned with lots of exciting things happening for both young and old.

But the party itself is no doubt on Wednesday. We mentioned that the team has 11 wins in a row, and among these is a strong away result against today's opponent, and they have actually had a crazy good hold over a long period internally against their fiercest competitor. Before this match they have won 5 of the last 6 internally. There is certainly something to take into this one. We are pretty sure that the speed of this AIK team suits today's opponent well. We have faith in another victory.

Djurgarden

The team is well placed at 2nd place, and is in line with their goal of being at the top. They have clear ambitions to move up, and strengthened the team with a new sports manager, as well as a good number of players before this season.

No doubt it costs money, and this club is also characterized by poor finances. They have also been on a begging round, or fundraising campaign as they call it among the fans. The fight fund as they call it. As of today, the club has raised 1,132,500 kroner. In a video on Djurgårdens website, sports director Wikegård says that this is money that will most likely go to strengthen the team with a player towards the playoffs. The club is therefore continuing with the spending, to focus everything on moving up.

What about the team they have now? We have a team full of quality. Especially offensively, they have gained a lot of experience. Our own eternal youth Patrick Thoresen, for example, who actually turns 42 this year. Dick Axelsson is another one. He will soon be 38. Linus Klasen (39) is another one. We want to mention this, because these guys deliver goals and points to the point. But we have seen a tendency for them to struggle a bit against the younger teams. Speed ​​is no longer their best friend. It must be mentioned that it is one of the weaknesses we see in this team. It will be exciting to see how they withstand the tough end of the season. We think they can make it a little tougher. They were in good shape before the break, and have themselves stated that they think it was a shame to take a break when things were going so well. At the same time, you hear from interviews that several people say the break helped, so that they were able to train and recover a bit. Some have also been to national team training camps, and that probably has something to do with wear and tear. The aforementioned Axelsson has already had to watch a number of matches from the stands with an injury. We may see that the team is already starting to have problems.

There is little to support this in the statistics. But for those of us who follow closely, we believe we can read between the lines. We will get the answer shortly. We think we will make a summary that shows why Djurgården loses this match.

Conclusion

The winning streak at AIK is really impressive, and must be a strong factor in this assessment. Although Djurgården is the best away team in the series with 51 points in 23 games, we imagine that the strong form of AIK will be what pulls this even battle in favor of the home team. A full arena in good shape is also a plus. At home, AIK has 37 points in 20 games. So not really that impressive. But that form looks significantly better in the latter part of the season. They now have 7 wins in their last 8 at home. That streak may be coincidental in relation to the opponent. But perhaps most impressive is that of the last 7 wins, includes wins against all teams ahead of them in the table except Djurgården (but they were beaten away). Teams like Karlskoga, Bjørkløven, Sødertalje and Kalmar have all been beaten in these.

We think it shows the quality of AIK after they have found their form. The internal matches this year are also in the home team's favor, and not least they have a good hold on their opponent for a good period now. We therefore recommend the following bets.

Sweden at 19:00: AIK – Djurgården: AIK wins moneyline (2.16)