Södertalje SK – Vesterås IK 26-02-2025

The Hockeyallsvenskan's tight schedule continues.

The top team Sødertalje from the same town with 64,619 inhabitants, often gathers a large crowd in Scaniarinken when the home team plays matches. The team is known for having an intimate hall with an electric atmosphere. The team is currently number 3.

The opponent tonight is the bottom team Vesterås. They have been that way for the last couple of seasons, and in that respect, as expected, they are down to 11th place. The team is chasing 10th place, which would give them a chance to make the playoffs.

Södertalje SK – The team led for a long time.

Södertalje came out of the starting blocks at a tremendous speed this season, and the team topped the table for a long time. They have had to take a step down a bit, and are still now in a nice 3rd place. They have a clear goal to be up there fighting. It is a team that has built over time, and they have been 5 and 2 in the previous seasons.

The team has struggled for some unknown reasons for a while. The coach has stated that they entered a bit of a difficult period, and were characterized by a tough match schedule for a while. He believes they are in the process of recovering a bit, and that they will be there until the playoffs begin. The last 6 games have ended with 4 wins and 2 losses. The losses came against the in-form teams AIK and Kalmar. But they have also won against strong teams like Karlskoga and Djurgården in the same period. So we'll see what the coach thinks.

This team should suit them well now, and we believe the team will get to feel the points catch again, after they lost a full 4-7 at home against Kalmar. A strange match, in which they were first 4-0 down, before they pulled it back to 4-4, before they finally lost 4-7 with two goals in the open cage in the end. We saw the worst and the best of the team in one and the same match. We don't think they will go on this blunder against such an opponent. 164-116 in goal difference so far in 48 matches. That means that the team scores enough, but concedes a little too much. The team is only 1 and 2 points ahead of the teams behind, and they will be desperate to keep the table position they have for the rest of the year. Important with a view to the playoffs.

We think they can do it.

Vesterås IK – As expected.

Vesterås was tipped by most experts, including myself, to finish between 11th and 14th. They are now in line with their current table position. They are now 4 points behind 10th place, which would give them a chance to reach the playoffs.

We can say right away that we don't think they can do it. They have tough games left, including this one. The team has performed poorly for much of the season, and has never really been in a good period. They have won 2 of the last 3. But that was against other bottom teams that were important to beat. Otherwise, they have been weak over a longer period. The period before that they only had 1 win in 14 games, where the only win came against the bottom team.

We think the team is happy to save their place, and that they will settle for this. Goal difference of 109-151 also tells a story of a team that struggles to score, but concedes too many. It is, as we say, a bad sign. Especially against the top teams.

We think this match will be played, but not much more than that. The team has little to play for.

Conclusion – Only one team on the field.

We believe this could quickly end in a run-off. A top team in Sødertalje, hungry for revenge, who suffered a bad home loss in the previous round, will probably want to make amends in front of their own fans.

Then we think Vesterås will suit them well. If we look at the previous meetings between these teams this season, everyone is in favor of Sødertalje. The numbers are as follows 2-4, 4-1 and 1-4. They also won the last 3 games last year against the same team, so they have a good hold on them internally.

We are betting on a home team that will come out and score, and recommend the following bets.

Hockey at 19:00: Søderlatje SK – Vesterås IK: Sødertalje SK wins -1.5 goals (1.81)