FC Nordsjælland-FC Midtjylland preview

Sunday 31/5 16.00

FC Nordsjælland (7th) will look to end the season with some positive results. The 4-2 win against Hobro showed promising things, but opponent was not impressive. Now they face a real test against the title winners, FC Midtjylland. FC Nordsjælland will have to do this without their banned right back Mario Ticinovic, which is bad news since FC Nordsjælland lack a quality alternative. The young Icelandic Adam Arnason is set to play, but he will get his hands full against FC Midtjylland’s Sylvester Igboun. Otherwise, FC Nordsjælland are without absences and if they have a good day, they should have decent chances here on their own pitch. Most dangerous situation is set to go through wingers Joshua John and Uffe Bech, and they could take advantage against FC Midjtylland backs that are not the strongest you could face. FC Midtjylland (1st) are champions and have nothing to play for here. Instead, they will use the match to test themselves ahead of the Champions League matches next season. They will change strategy and not put as much pressure on the ball. The aim is then to counter with a big field ahead of them, which should suit their fast wingers. It will be interesting to see how this approach works. They will have to do it without some key players. Compared to last match, right back and captain Kristian Bach Bak and midfielder Petter Andersson are out, while central defender Erik Sviatchenko and striker Morten Duncan Rasmussen return. In total, this should mean that FC Midtjylland are around the same level. Head coach Riddersholm has said that they won’t be resting their best players despite of the secured championship title, so we should expect to see an FC Midtjylland team in a strong version.

FC Nordsjælland are a strong home team, probably because of their artificial pitch (the only in the league). They face a FC Midtjylland team who are trying out new things, so they should have decent chances of a surprise here. The defensive issues for both teams combined with a tendency for both teams to play high-scoring games (61% over 2.5 goals for both teams combined), should open up for a match with goals, which we believe is the best bet of the match.

Idea: Over 2.5 goals – 1.75 at Ladbrokes