Mjøndalen – IK Start 28-04-2025

Mondays are often a time of rest for those of us who like odds. But now that football is rolling in Norway, the first day of the week is no longer blue. And today is no exception. And we are going to Consto Arena in Mjøndalen to take a closer look at the team that refuses to die.

Analysis of the teams

Several of us who do odds and betting at a serious level had been looking forward to following Mjøndalen this year. The situation at the club would suggest that it would be easy money to raise from a club in crisis, but they have delivered fine performances despite the difficult situation they are in. But when IK Start comes to visit we will see how Mjøndalen copes with everyday life again after last week's events.

Mjøndalen – the best of what's free

10 million in deficit resulted in a player exodus of dimensions. 22 players left, and the club had to change its status to semi-professional. Which means that they no longer have the opportunity to train during the day. Players from the 2nd and 3rd divisions were brought in, and coach Kevin Nicol knew that this year's season was going to be even tougher than the previous year.

For Mjøndalen have struggled since relegation, but have always managed to salvage their place. Last year they had to go through qualification to stay in the OBOS league. But unfortunately no one believes they will make it this year. But despite all the extra-sporting adversity, they have appeared in a positive way. They made a good impression in the series opener, away against Egersund, where they took a surprising 0-2 lead early on. And even though it didn't quite hold up, we got a hint that Mjøndalen plans to die fighting. And a 1-1 draw at home against Rausfoss and a 0-0 away against Ålesund itself confirms this.

But the highlight came in the cup. After getting past Åssiden in the round of 64, Strømsgodset awaited in the round of 32. The very "Ælv Classico". It doesn't get any bigger than that for the brown-clad. And after 4-3 on penalties, after 1-1 at full time, the cup bomb was a fact. So how do you recover after something like that?

The fact is that Kevin Nicol's boys now have 120 minutes on their feet, which is obviously not positive. But beating big brother gives you a feeling of walking on water. And that kind of thing comes in handy in everyday life. And as the goalkeeper so aptly said after the cup match; "we have to be the best at what is free if this is going to work". And hard work, tough tackles and aggressive pressure are free.

IK Start - is the new life already over?

IK Start also played a cup match last week. And it didn't go as well there. Because in a season where the goal was to keep non-sporting things in check and only focus on football, a cup loss against Pors was the last thing they needed. Because after many years of chaos in the corridors, this season was supposed to be the year where they would once again challenge the best. And it started so well.

Because with a full pot after two league rounds and advancement in the cup, the start of the season could not have been better. But that was before little Hødd came to visit. They went home to the northwest with 3 points before IK Start went to Porsgrunn to advance in the cup according to the recipe. But the only thing they came home with was a tail stuck long up between their legs. And suddenly the bad memories from the previous year were back.

So how do you respond to something like that? As with Mjøndalen's victory over Strømsgodset, a loss can also turn out positively, but it is not a given. Now we will see what is inside this Start team. Will we see a beaten bunch without self-confidence, or a team hungry for revenge that wants to raise the bar?

The value lies with the home team

The answer to the above questions is not up to us. No one does. But the fact is that IK Start has continued something from last year, no matter how much better they look this year. And that is that there are goals at both ends of the pitch. Because even though they have only played five games so far this year, including cup and series, we are starting to see a trend, as all five have ended with both "both teams scoring" and all have gone over 2.5 goals. That is the Start we know.

And in a league that had 766 goals last year, where the goal average was 3.2 goals per game, we are amazed at the odds of goals here. And if we try to understand, the reason for that probably lies with the home team. Mjøndalen is not a scoring machine this year. For the reasons mentioned. But they scored against Strømsgodset and Raufoss, and put two balls past the goalkeeper of league leader Egersund, and it is far from inconceivable that they will also manage it against the team that so far this year has conceded goals against Vag, Pors, Hødd, Skeid and Sogndal. And we should remember that Start was the league's second worst away team last year, with only Sandnes behind them in that table. And they conceded 30 goals in 15 away games.

But let's be clear; we support the bookmakers in saying that the guests from the south are the favorites here. But we think the odds on goal are too good to leave it untouched. And therefore we end up with the following bets;

Norway at 19:00: Mjøndalen – IK Start: Both teams to score (1.72)