Start welcome back Clarence Goodson from Gold Cup duty as they take on Molde in Eliteserien action while Jay Needham and Alta continue their 1. Division promotion push against Sogndal.
Molde - Start
A battle of top five teams in the Elietserien takes place on Saturday afternoon when Start travels to Aker Stadion to take on Molde.
Start will welcome back defender Clarence Goodson who was with the US national team on Gold Cup duty.
Goodson will take his place in the backline along with fellow Yank Hunter Freeman while Brian Waltrip is not expected to suit up for Molde.
Start are coming off a dramatic match that saw them come back from two goals down in the final five minutes to draw with Stabaek.
In order to stay alive in the race for a Europa League berth next season, the impetus will be on the visitors to snatch the three points to stay ahead of the three clubs just behind Knut Torum's squad in the league standings.
Molde look to continue their excellent play this season as the hosts sit comfortably in second place and are both six points behind first place and undefeated Rosenborg and six points ahead of third place Odd Grenland.
Torum and Molde head coach Kjell Jonevret will each be able to count on a full squads.
Stabaek - Aalesund
Mikkel Diskerud and Stabaek hope to set aside the disappointment of their Champions League defeat when they host Aalseund on Saturday at Telenor Arena in Baerum.
Diskerud has seen few minutes as of late in both league and European action so it is unclear whether head coach Jan Jonsson will elect to bring in the young striker earlier for any substantial amount of playing time.
Despite the setbacks of Wednesday's loss to Copenhagen and last Saturday's give-away draw at Start, Stabaek still are knocking at the door at the top five of the Eliteserien and would welcome a late season push towards another berth in European play.
Aalesund goalkeeper Adin Brown is finishing up his recovery from heel surgery and will sit out Saturday's match but hope to be available the following week.
With the exception of Brown, both Aalseund head coach Kjetil Rekdal and Jonsson will have a full stable of players to count on.
Stromsgodset - Valerenga
Troy Perkins would like nothing better than a shutout to erase the disappointment of the Gold Cup final as Valerenga travel to Drammen on Sunday to take on Stromsgodset at Marienlyst Stadion.
After starting in Valerenga's Thursday Europa League loss to PAOK, Perkins will return to league action for player/coach Martin Andresen and start in goal for the visitors.
Valerenga struggled after the two week midseason break as they suffered a miserable 0-3 home defeat against Odd Grenland.
With the Ohio native back in the fold, Andresen's squad will be hopeful for a better result against Stromsgodset who sit in 14th place in the league standings.
The hosts are directed by head coach Ronny Deila are tied with cellar dweller Lyn as the least scoring team in the Eliteserien.
Andresen will not have the services of defender Erik Hagen who is out for the rest of the season after undergoing hip surgery this week while Deila will be able to count on his entire roster.
Alta - Sogndal
Jay Needham and Alta return to action on just three days of rest when they host second place Sogndal in 1. Division action on Sunday at Finnmarkshallen Arena.
Needham is set to take his customary starting spot in the Alta backline for head coach Aasmund Bjorkman.
The formula as of late for Alta has been relatively simple. Needham and company shore up the back while the offense funnels the ball to striker Vegard Braaten to score all of the goals.
Braaten is in the midst of a remarkable scoring stretch that has seen him tally 15 goals in 16 games.
Bjorkman will need that kind of offensive output against second place Sogndal who are tied with first place Honefoss as having the least scored upon defense in the league.
A win by the hosts would warrant serious conversation that the far northern Norwegian club are in contention for promotion to the Eliteserien.
Bjorkman and Sogndal head man Karl Oskar Emberland will have full squads at their disposal.
Notes
Matthew Allen is likely to watch Sandefjord's match vereus Bodo/Glimt from the bench as the reserve goalkeeper. |
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