Odense – Silkeborg
Danish Superliga Round 8
Odense, September 18, 19:00 CET
With three wins in a row, Silkeborg has a great opportunity to get involved at least in the fight for second place in the Danish Superliga, after eight rounds.
The away match against Odense in Round 8 of the Danish championship is a real challenge and a test of quality for the Silkeborg team. This club played excellently and already achieved victories over the best teams in the country, champions FC Copenhagen (3:1 away from home) and Nordsjaelland (2:0 at home).
Silkeborg has shown in the previous weeks that they are more effective when it comes to away matches - that is, when the team plays oriented on counterattacks. Before the victory in Copenhagen against the champions, this team played 2:2 in a difficult visit to Aarhus.
On the other hand, Odense has obvious problems in defense. In each of the seven matches so far in the Danish Superliga this season, the Odense team has conceded at least a goal. The team has yet to win at home. The defeats of Odense in front of their fans - against Viborg 2:1 (August 7) and Vejle 2:1 (September 1) best testify to what kind of match we should expect. But also, a draw against Randers, which is objectively one of the worst teams in the Superliga – 2:2, in a game played in the first round, on July 23.
Overall, the Danish football public expects Silkeborg to score at least two goals in this away game, because they are a better team than all the ones that Odense failed to beat as hosts in the previous weeks.
In the last five away games in the Danish Superliga, Silkeborg has three triumphs and only one defeat - this team is playing more and more maturely and can already hope to fight for the position that leads to European competitions next season. On the other hand, place in the middle of the table looks as the maximum and ultimate range for Odense.
When it comes to their duels, out of the last seven Odense managed to beat Silkeborg only once - in mid-April this year (2:0). Since then, the favorites have significantly improved the squad and enter this duel with a lot of confidence. Interestingly, out of those seven games, only in that mentioned last one, did it not happen that both scored at least a goal.
Silkeborg will count on all important players. The club was once the champion of Denmark (1994), but also in excellent third place last year. If they achieve a triumph in Odense, the team of Danish coach Kent Nielsen would have only two points less than the leader, favorite and champion FC Copenhagen. With a favorable schedule in the coming weeks, they would have an excellent chance to fight for the top of the table...
That's why this match is much more important for the visitors, who will try to prove in Odense, that they have offensive quality, at least to the extent that they did in big victories over FC Copenhagen and Nordsjaelland this summer.