Swedish Allsvenskan League 2018 season preview Football
Malmo capture Swedish league title
Malmo claimed the 2017 league title with three games remaining last season, Sweden's champion for the fourth time in the last five years. Malmo also hold a record 20 Swedish championships, two more than bitter rivals Goteborg. Here is a short summary of the 2017 campaign:
- Champions: Malmo (UEFA Champions League QR1)
- Runners-up: AIK (Europa League QR2)
- Third place: Djurgarden (Europa League QR1)
- Fourth place: Hacken (Europa League QR1)
- Relegated: Jonkoping, Halmstad, Eskilstuna
- Promoted: Brommapojkarna. Trelleborg, Dalkurd.
| Team | Titles | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malmo | 20 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| Goteborg | 18 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
| Norrkoping | 13 | 9 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Djurgarden | 11 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 3 |
| AIK | 11 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Elfsborg | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 8 |
| Kalmar | 1 | 4 | 11 | 13 | 6 | 12 |
| Hammarby | 1 | - | - | 11 | 11 | 9 |
| Hacken | - | 10 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 4 |
| Orebro | - | - | 6 | 9 | 9 | 11 |
| Sundsvall | - | - | - | 12 | 13 | 13 |
| Ostersund | - | - | - | - | 8 | 5 |
| Brommapojkarna | - | 13 | 16 | - | - | - |
| Sirius | - | - | - | - | - | 7 |
| Trelleborg | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Dalkurd | - | - | - | - | - | - |
The overall number of titles for each club in Allsvenskan League since 1896 and their standings in the last five seasons. From 1896 to 1925, the Swedish Champions were decided in a knock-out competition (Cup format). The League, Allsvenskan, was not established until the season 1924/25.
Kurdish delight as Dalkurd promoted to Swedish top flight
Kurdish-affiliated Swedish football team Dalkurd secured promotion to Sweden's Allsvenskan league last season, for the first time in their 13-year history. The club was founded in 2004 by nine Kurdish immigrants as a social project to keep children distracted from the vices of the streets. Based in the town of Borlaenge in Dalarna county, a three-hour drive northwest of Stockholm, Dalkurd has become a "national team" for millions of Kurdish people around the world with more than 1.5 million Facebook followers. When the club were sensationally promoted to Superettan, the Swedish second division, ahead of the 2016 season, two Kurdish millionaires from Iraq, Sarkat and Kawad Junad, acquired 49 percent of the club and made significant investments. The team's colors are symbolic of Kurdistan, with the Kurdish flag included in the crest on their shirts.
This page contains additional information about the 2018 Swedish First Division season. Latest news, statistics, results and predictions you can find on our main Euro Football > Sweden page.
New coaches
Five Allsvenskan teams have new coaches this year, Goteborg - Poya Asbaghi, Brommapojkarna - Luis Pimenta, Hacken - Andreas Alm, Elfsborg - Jimmy Thelin, Hammarby - Stefan Billborn and newly promoted Dalkurd - Azrudin Valentic. The most significant change is Poya Asbaghi, the new head coach of former champions Goteborg. After having one of their worst seasons in a while, Goteborg have decided to appoint 32-year-old coach for the upcoming campaign. Asbaghi, former Dalkurd and Gefle boss, replaces caretaker coach Alf Westerberg.
| # | Team | Pts | GD | W-D-L |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Malmo | 64 | 36 | 19-7-4 (30) |
| 2 | AIK | 57 | 25 | 16-9-5 (30) |
| 3 | Djurgarden | 53 | 24 | 15-8-7 (30) |
| 4 | Hacken | 52 | 14 | 14-10-6 (30) |
| 5 | Ostersund | 50 | 16 | 13-11-6 (30) |
| 6 | Norrkoping | 48 | 5 | 14-6-10 (30) |
| 7 | Sirius | 40 | -5 | 11-7-12 (30) |
| 8 | Elfsborg | 39 | -6 | 10-9-11 (30) |
| 9 | Hammarby | 38 | -1 | 9-11-10 (30) |
| 10 | Goteborg | 37 | 2 | 9-10-11 (30) |
| 11 | Orebro | 36 | -16 | 10-6-14 (30) |
| 12 | Kalmar | 32 | -19 | 9-5-16 (30) |
| 13 | Sundsvall | 31 | -17 | 7-10-13 (30) |
| 14 | Jonkoping | 30 | -15 | 6-12-12 (30) |
| 15 | Halmstad | 24 | -16 | 5-9-16 (30) |
| 16 | Eskilstuna | 20 | -27 | 4-8-18 (30) |
League standings for the 2017 season.
Malmo aims for 3rd straight title
According to online bookmakers, Malmo are unanimous favorites to win the title again, with AIK as their main rivals.
| Team | Odds | Team | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malmo | 2.75 | Hammarby | 41 |
| AIK Stockholm | 4 | Sirius | 101 |
| Ostersund | 8 | Orebro | 151 |
| Djurgarden | 8 | Kalmar | 151 |
| Norrkoping | 11 | Dalkurd | 251 |
| Hacken | 15 | Brommapojkarna | 251 |
| Goteborg | 15 | Sundsvall | 501 |
| Elfsborg | 17 | Trelleborg | 501 |
Preseason odds for the outright winner of the 2018 Allsvenskan league posted by online bookmakers.
Swedish Cup finals in last five seasons
2017 Ostersunds - Norrkoping 4:1
2016 Hacken - Malmo 2:2 (6:5 on penalties)
2015 Goteborg - Orebro 2:1
2014 Elfsborg - Helsingborgs 1:0
2013 Goteborg - Djurgarden 1:1 (4:2 on penalties)
Key players
(transfer market value in m€)
AIK Stockholm
Goalkeeper Oscar Linner (0.8); Defense: Per Karlsson (0.8), Daniel Sundgren (0.8), Joel Ekstrand (0.8); Midfield: Tarik Elyounoussi (1.5), Kristoffer Olsson (1), Enoch Kofi Adu (0.9), Rasmus Lindkvist (0.8), Ahmed Yasin (0.8); Forward: Nicolas Stefanelli (1.5), Henok Goitom (0.5).
Brommapojkarna
Goalkeeper Nikola Petric (0.3); Defense: Martin Rauschenberg (0.3), Ludvig Ohman (0.3), Erik Figueroa (0.3); Midfield: Gustav Sandberg-Magnusson (0.4), Markus Gustafsson (0.3), Petar Petrovic (0.3), Alexander Nilsson (0.3), Christopher Brandeborn (0.3); Forward: Bajram Ajeti (0.4), Tim Soderstrom (0.2).
Dalkurd
Goalkeeper Abdulaziz Demircan (0.1); Defense: Kebba Ceesay (0.4), Henrik Lofkvist (0.3), Irfan Jasarevic (0.3); Midfield: Johan Bertilsson (0.5), Rawez Lawan (0.4), Robin Tranberg (0.3), Oliver Berg (0.3); Forward: Younes Bnou Marzouk (0.5), Mohamed Buya Turay (0.4), Ahmed Awad (0.3).
Djurgardens
Goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson (0.4); Defense: Jacob Une Larsson (0.8), Jonas Olsson (0.8), Marcus Danielsson (0.6), Felix Beijmo (0.6), Niklas Gunnarsson (0.5); Midfield: Fredrik Ulvestad (0.8), Kevin Walker (0.7), Jonathan Ring (0.6); Forward: Yura Movsisyan (2), Kerim Mrabti (0.9).
Elfsborg
Goalkeeper Kevin Stuhr Ellegaard (0.4); Defense: Adam Lundqvist (1), Joakim Nilsson (0.8), Jorgen Horn (0.6), Jesper Manns (0.4); Midfield: Simon Lundevall (1), Samuel Holmen (0.9), Daniel Gustavsson (0.7), Simon Olsson (0.5); Forward: Issam Jebali (1), Viktor Prodell (0.8).
Goteborg
Goalkeeper Pontus Dahlberg (0.8); Defense: Emil Salomonsson (1.4), Andre Calisir (0.5), Carl Starfelt (0.3); Midfield: Sebastian Eriksson (1), Mix Diskerud (0.9), Giorgi Kharaishvili (0.8), Mikael Ingebrigtsen (0.5), Vajebah Sakor (0.4); Forward: Gustav Engvall (1), Tobias Hysen (0.6).
Hacken
Goalkeeper Peter Abrahamsson (0.7); Defense: Joel Andersson (0.9), Rasmus Lindgren (0.8), Juhani Ojala (0.6), Johan Hammar (0.3); Midfield: Nasiru Mohammed (0.9), Alexander Faltsetas (0.8), Paulinho (0.8), Erik Friberg (0.8); Forward: Moestafa El Kabir (1.2), Viktor Lundberg (0.3).
Hammarby
Goalkeeper Johan Wiland (0.4); Defense: Bjorn Paulsen (0.8), Mads Fenger (0.6), Mats Solheim (0.5); Midfield: Gershon Koffie (0.6), Arnor Smarason (0.6), Jeppe Andersen (0.5), Jiloan Hamad (0.5), Erkan Zengin (0.5); Forward: Sander Svendsen (0.7), Nikola Djurdjic (0.4).
Kalmar
Goalkeeper Lucas Hagg Johansson (0.4); Defense: Gbenga Arokoyo (0.5), Mikael Dyrestam (0.5), Emin Nouri (0.4); Midfield: Viktor Elm (1.1), Rasmus Elm (0.5), Melker Hallberg (0.5), Herman Hallberg (0.3), Tobias Eriksson (0.3); Forward: Romario Pereira Sipiao (0.6), Nixon (0.4).
Malmo
Goalkeeper Johan Dahlin (0.8); Defense: Lasse Nielsen (1.5), Franz Brorsson (0.9), Rasmus Bengtsson (0.7); Midfield: Oscar Lewicki (1.5), Arnor Ingvi Traustason (1.3), Soren Rieks (1.1), Fouad Bachirou (0.9); Forward: Carlos Strandberg (0.8), Markus Rosenberg (0.7), Alexander Jeremejeff (0.7).
Norrkoping
Goalkeeper David Mitov Nilsson (0.6); Defense: Linus Wahlqvist (1.2), Jon Gudni Fjoluson (0.8), Andreas Johansson (0.4); Midfield: Filip Dagerstal (0.8), Gudmundur Thorarinsson (0.7), David Moberg Karlsson (0.6), Eric Smith (0.5), Simon Thern (0.5); Forward: Karl Holmberg (1), Simon Skrabb (0.5).
Orebro
Goalkeeper Oscar Jansson (0.4); Defense: Brendan Hines-Ike (0.5), Michael Almeback (0.4), Sebastian Ring (0.4), Daniel Bjornkvist (0.3), Martin Lorentzson (0.3); Midfield: Nahir Besara (0.8), Johan Martensson (0.5), Nordin Gerzic (0.3); Forward: Kennedy Igboananike (0.7), Victor Skold (0.2).
Ostersunds
Goalkeeper Aly Keita (0.7); Defense: Tom Pettersson (0.9), Sotiris Papagiannopoulos (0.9), Dennis Widgren (0.8), Sam Mensiro (0.6); Midfield: Ken Sema (1), Brwa Nouri (0.8), Tesfaldet Tekie (0.7), Curtis Edwards (0.7); Forward: Saman Ghoddos (1.6), Alhaji Gero (0.5).
Sirius
Goalkeeper Josh Wicks (0.3); Defense: Oscar Pehrsson (0.4), Karl Larson (0.4), Jesper Arvidsson (0.4), Tim Bjorkstrom (0.2); Midfield: Philip Haglund (0.5), Christer Gustafsson (0.5), Elias Andersson (0.4), Stefano Holmquist Vecchia (0.3); Forward: Omar Eddahri (0.4), Shkodran Maholli (0.4).
Sundsvall
Goalkeeper Tommy Naurin (0.3); Defense: Eric Bjorkander (0.5), Samu de los Reyes (0.4), David Myrestam (0.3), Dennis Olsson (0.2); Midfield: David Batanero (0.3), Maic Sema (0.3), Juanjo Ciercoles (0.3), Romain Gall (0.3); Forward: Linus Hallenius (0.4), Peter Wilson (0.4).
Trelleborg
Goalkeeper Marko Johansson (0.3); Defense: Lasse Nielsen (0.4), Alexander Blomqvist (0.3), Anton Tideman (0.2), Victor Nilsson (0.2); Midfield: Robin Nilsson (0.3), Oscar Johansson (0.3), Erik Andersson (0.2), Sebastian Ohlsson (0.2); Forward: Deniz Hummet (0.3), Marcus Pode (0.2).