AIK – Varnamo 28-02-2024

Here we are going to the Swedish Cup. A cup that is strangely not as popular as many of the other cups around Europe. AIK, who finished 3rd in the series last year, will host Varnamo, who secured their place in Allsvenskan through the qualifiers. Cup is a cup as we all know, and anything can happen.

What has to happen, however, is that AIK has to win by at least 2 goals to have a chance to advance from the group stage. Because in Sweden we are in what we now call round 2. It is a slightly different way of playing the cup, because here there are 8 groups of 4 teams, where all the group winners go to the quarter-finals.

Right now AIK is in 3rd place after 2 games with 2 points. While Varnamo is last with 0 points with the same number of games played. The teams at the top of the table are both with 4 points, which means that Varnamo is already out, while AIK will advance if Trelleborg and Degerfors draw if they win by 2 goals or more. Could it be possible?

AIK – A club in winter hibernation.

AIK who delivered their best season since the 2021 season. Has started a little quiet and weak in the training matches and the two cup matches that have been so far. But we believe this is a club that is on its way out of winter hibernation. The club has been variable in the run-up, and everything from a loss against KFUM to a victory against Molde shows that the team varies.

In the cup they have also played two matches so far. Both have ended with 1-1, and thus 2 points in 2 matches. Worst in the match against Degerfors, and Best in the match against Trelleborg recently. They have now trained well, and we think they will improve a little more in this one. They have put themselves in a situation where they have to win this one by at least 2 goals to be able to advance. If the match between Degerfors and Trelleborg ends in a draw, that result is good enough to advance.

We expect the team to try to break free, and give it a chance. They scored okay goals last year, and conceded very little. Simply a solid team. We expect more of the same this season. Since the chance is there, we think the team is playing to win with more goals. Then we'll see if they're starting to wake up.

Varnamo – A team that belongs at the bottom.

We think Varnamo will have a tough season. They needed a win to secure their place last year, where they secured their place through an extremely even match over two games against Landskrona. We think this is where this team belongs this season as well.

The team scores a few goals. But concedes even more. We also see that in the two cup matches this year. Both have ended in defeat, and the scores were 2-3 and 3-4. Both home matches. The team has nothing to play for in this match, and they will probably use this as a training match. This means that they may concede a few different goals during the match. If they are behind, we quickly believe that more players can try their hand here. The starting point for the match is interesting.

We wouldn't be surprised if the team doesn't sacrifice everything in this one considering the season is approaching. They know this is a game they are most likely not going to win, and when motivation is not quite there, we see opportunities here considering the home team.

Conclusion – Should be a team on the field.

We believe AIK will try to go for a result that will secure them promotion if the second match, in all probability, ends in a draw. Which is not at all impossible. It is good that there is interest in AIK after the previous season. The team has already sold over 25,000 tickets for the opening match of the series in 37 days. They have already announced that they will open a new stand at Strawberry Arena for that match. We therefore believe that AIK will show off to those who find their way to this match as well.

The internal matches last season also build on the game we are thinking of. AIK won 0-1 away, and 2-0 at home. We think we will have to try a handicap bet here on the home team with this starting point. We get very good odds, and we just have to try it.

Sweden at 18:30: AIK - Varnamo: AIK wins -1.5 goals (2.60)