Blooming and Independiente square up on Monday morning in an intriguing tie which sees Blooming trying to keep some room between them and the relegation mire and Independiente seeking to try and qualify for an international cup. Both teams are in an identical run of form with three wins in the last five, but Inde has scored twice as many goals (eight versus four).

Historically, this fixture is very favourable to the home side, with the last seven ties having been won by the host, Inde has won three times in Cochabamba this season but lost all three games in Santa Cruz, failing to score in any of the games, including a 2-0 defeat to Blooming in the League Cup. Blooming’s home form however is not rock solid this season, they have only won four of the nine games they have hosted.

Expect Blooming to continue their home improvement, more so if scorer Gaston Rodriguez has anything to do with it, he has scored four goals in as many games and is top scorer with seven. Don’t expect Independiente for their part to be total pushovers, and they have their own Thomaz Santos to look out for, who for his part has scored four in the last five.

This is a huge game at both ends of the table as we enter into the second half of the 2023 Swedish Superettan season. With one side beginning the weekend in the relegation playoff places and the other just outside of the top three, this is a match that could define each other’s seasons.

Last season, Orebro finished in mid-table but just two points above the bottom four and the relegation playoff places in the Superettan. They finished the campaign with three successive draws which followed back-to-back defeats. That poor form has continued into the 2023 season, too, as they do now languish in those aforementioned relegation playoff places.

Under the management of Christian Jardler, the hosts have managed just three victories in their 15 matches so far this season and come into this on the back of three straight draws, again. A theme of their campaign has been the low-scoring nature of their matches so far with just 33 goals coming in their 15 games.

The only team who have had fewer goals scored in their Superettan matches so far this season are their upcoming opponents, GAIS. GAIS were promoted from the third-tier last season and are now challenging for back-to-back promotions but there have been just 32 goals in their 15 matches.

GAIS begin this weekend’s round of fixtures sitting just outside of the top three, a point behind Osters. Their 2-0 loss at home to fellow promotion contenders, Vasteras, ended a four-match unbeaten run of form.

Given the record of the two sides and their low-scoring themes throughout the campaign, this one is unlikely to be overly entertaining for the neutral but can offer value for a low-scoring bet.