Kristiansund are a side who continue to surprise everyone with various plucky performances. They have done a league and cup double against Molde this week, with the most recent success 4-3 after extra time on Wednesday. Attacker Sander Kilen scored a hat-trick in that fixture, and KBK have a knack of surprising teams.

The visitors are deserving favourites due to a combined factor of better quality, strong form and possessing a top class attack force. Viking are top of the table with six wins out of nine, but have dropped points in certain situations, and the better bet in their games is usually to take the overs. Eight of their nine Eliteserien matches this session have gone over 2.5 goals, so this approach is worth backing again, especially as the Kristiansund defence might be tired after their midweek cup heroics.

Sarpsborg rescued a late draw away to Brann last week (2-2) which means they’ve still only lost one match this season. This is a team that plays a great counter-attacking style and is very dangerous in transitions. Sarpsborg are the favourites to win here, although they must do so without key man Sondre Orjasaeter, who is injured. They will miss his presence cutting in from the left wing, and that is probably justification not to back the home team.

Instead, taking over 2.5 goals is probably the most sensible approach because both teams can contribute. Tromso are going to be full of confidence after beating bitter rivals Bodo Glimt 2-1 last week. They scored a late winner, and everyone has been euphoric in the week since that result. Five of the last seven Tromso matches have gone over 2.5 goals, and their defence has not been as reliable compared to normal. Four of the last six Sarpsborg fixtures have also gone over 2.5 goals, as have seven of the last eight meetings. Everything points towards goals.

Sandefjord have won all three of their home matches, whilst Stromsgodset have won two of their three road matches. So something has to give here, and the away side looks like the best value based on the prices. Sandefjord have performed very well this season, but they are not used to the dizzy heights of being in the top half of the table. They perennially struggle against relegation, so we might start to see them slide down the standings in the next few weeks. There is one major piece of team news heading into this game that their top scorer Stefan Ingi Sigurdarson is suspended after getting sent off last week. That is a massive blow and will significantly reduce their firepower. 

Stromsgodset definitely should be performing better, and losing at home to Bryne 2-0 last week is not acceptable. But they seem to prefer playing away from home, where they have more freedom and less pressure. This is a winnable match under the circumstances, and Godset themselves have one of the top scorers in the division Marco Farji, who is enjoying a breakthrough campaign. Both league meetings resulted in draws last season, and something similar could occur here. Godset are overpriced on the draw double chance market considering their away record so far this year.

Haugesund just keep losing football matches and in total have suffered defeat in seven out of eight matches this season. They’ve picked up one point and have both the worst defensive and attacking record in the division. To put it bluntly, they are the poorest side in the Eliteserien at the moment. They fell to a 1-0 loss at Rosenborg last week, so managed to keep the scoreline respectful, but Haugesund are offering such little threat with only four goals scored all season.

Brann should not have too many problems beating them here. The Bergen outfit are unbeaten since the opening day of the season, although they have drawn both of their last two games at home to Rosenborg and Sarpsborg. This is a much easier fixture though, even if there is a long-standing rivalry between the two sides on the West Coast of Norway.

Brann are still missing their key playmaker Niklas Castro, but should still have more than enough firepower to see off this terrible Haugesund outfit.