On a run of two back-to-back defeats, Kalmar square off against Varbergs BoIS at the Guldfageln Arena in round 16 of the Swedish Allsvenskan on Sunday.

With the opening game of their Europa Conference League qualifiers on the horizon, the hosts will head into the weekend in search of a morale-boosting performance.

Match preview

Kalmar were left empty handed for the second consecutive game as they suffered a 3-1 defeat against Hammarby when the sides locked horns at the Tele2 Arena last Sunday

Noah Shamoun halved the deficit in the 76th minute after first-half goals from Jusef Erabi and Viktor Dukanovic put the hosts two goals up, but substitute Tesfaldet Tekie restored the two-goal advantage in the ninth minute of stoppage time.

Prior to that, Henrik Jensen's men fell to a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of league leaders Elfsborg on July 9 which saw their six-match unbeaten run in all competitions come to an end.

This slump in form has seen Kalmar drop to seventh place in the Allsvenskan standings, level on 22 points with Hammarby and Norrkoping, as they begin the second half of the campaign.

Kalmar will now look to find their feet just in time for the first leg of their Europa Conference League qualifying second-round clash against Armenian side Pyunik Yerevan on July 27.

Varbergs BoIS, on the other hand, were sent crashing back down to earth last time out when they were condemned to a 2-1 defeat by fellow strugglers AIK at the Paskbergsvallen.

In a game where Robin Tranberg received his marching orders, Sotirios Papagiannopoulos and Mads Thychosen found the target to put the visitors in a commanding lead before Niklas Dahlstrom pulled one back with seven minutes left to play.

Martin Skogman's men recorded their first win of the season one week earlier when they beat Goteborg 2-1 at the Gamla Ullevi Stadium thanks to a second-half brace from 19-year-old striker Dion Krasniqi.

Varbergs BoIS have now lost nine of their 15 matches while claiming one win and five draws to collect eight points and sit rooted to the bottom of the league standings

While the Halland County outfit will be looking to record successive away wins for the first time since last November, Sunday's game pits them against an opposing side who are unbeaten in each of their last six meetings, claiming two wins and four draws since a 1-0 loss in July 2020.

Team News

Kalmar will take to the pitch without the services of 23-year-old midfielder Carl Gustafsson, who has been out of action since coming off injury back in April.

He is joined on the club's injury table by Swedish defender Sebastian Nilsson, who is yet to make an appearance this year as he continues his long spell on the sidelines.

First-choice goalkeeper Ricardo Friedrich will serve the second of his three-match suspension following his straight red against Elfsborg on July 9.

Meanwhile, Varberg BoIS will have to make do without experienced midfielder Tranberg, who picked up a red card in Monday's defeat against AIK.

On the injury front, Persson will be unable to call upon Oliver Alfons, who is currently recuperating from a knee problem, while veteran goalkeeper Stojan Lukic is a major doubt after missing the game against AIK.

The defensive duo of Anton Liljenback and 22-year-old Gideon Mensah are yet to feature for the visitors this year due to knee injuries and will play no part in this weekend's clash.

Kalmar possible starting lineup:
Kindberg; Lindahl, Saetra, Sjostedt, Olafsson; Sipiao, Skrabb, Karlsson; Netabay, Rajovic, Hummet

Varbergs BoIS possible starting lineup:
Olsson; Lindner, Stanisic, Zackrisson; Silverholt, Le Roux, Lushaku, Nogueira; Karlsson, Krasniqi, Junior

We say: Kalmar 2-0 Varbergs BoIS

Despite their struggles in recent weeks, Kalmar head into the weekend as firm favourites to come away with the desired result as they take on a Varbergs side who have endured a turbulent campaign. Given the gulf in class and quality between the sides, we are tipping the hosts to return to winning ways on Sunday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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