Football Bet of the Day: Mjallby to capitalise on Hacken’s defensive woes

On Wednesday evening (18:00), we shall see a top-six clash in the Allsvenskan take place as Mjallby welcome Hacken to Strandvallen. Both sides are level on 17 points with the same number of wins, draws and losses, but with the hosts boasting a better goal difference of five.

They have both not been on the best of runs of late with just two wins from each of their last five. The hosts are on a stretch of two defeats, while the visitors have failed to win in their last three. It is from this clash that I have selected my football bet of the day, and it is weighted in the favour of the hosts.

With both these teams having the same number of points on the board, as well as matching each other's number of results, this does seem like a tough one to call. This is exacerbated by the disappointing runs they are both on.

However, I think this match provides the perfect opportunity for Mjallby to get back to winning ways and move up to fourth. They have lost just one of their six home clashes this season, and that came at the hands of title chasers Djurgarden at the weekend, who are eight points ahead of Anders Torstensson's side.

They have won three of their fixtures on home soil, and bar their last outing, they have shown to be a strong outfit when playing at Strandvallen. So the market I have gone for here is for Mjallby to win with -1 handicap.

I believe that this offers great value at 4/1 because not just because of how much stronger they appear to be at home, but because their opponents have looked shaky at the back in recent weeks. Hacken have shipped eight goals in their last three matches and so now they have conceded just as many goals this term as they have scored (19).

In comparison, Mjallby have conceded just 13 goals in 11 appearances, and there have been three occasions already in which they have won by at least a two-goal cushion. They did also beat Hacken 1-0 in the reverse fixture back on matchday one, courtesy of Viktor Gustafson's second-half finish. So there will be a psychological factor in play heading into Wednesday's clash.

Hacken have managed to win just one of their five trips on the road so far, losing three of them, and I think it is going to be a tough ask for them to secure their second away victory to a team that has tasted defeat just once at home.

There is value to be had in backing Mjallby to win at 7/5, but I do fancy the -1 handicap selection because the visitors have lost their last two away trips 3-0, so the back line's confidence will be low, and something that the hosts can exploit.

You can read all our latest Football Bets of the Day at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.