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Viking, a strong favorite in local derby

Sandnes coach admitted that avoiding relegation would be a great success for his team.

Considering the fact that all three teams who are in contention for the third place on the league table, Viking, Aalesund and Haugesund, recorded a draw in the previous round , these three teams enter this round in exactly the same positions as they did a round ago. Hangesund did a great job defeating Brann in an away match, but out of these three teams, Viking seems as the one in the best form. In addition, they play 3 out of 5 last rounds home, which is quite a big deal in Norway.

Viking haven't lost in 4 matches, they won two home games and settled for a draw in two away games, which confirmed just how reliable they have been throughout the season. Only 5 defeats in 25 matches is a quite impressive result for Kjell Jonevret's team, a team which hosts a derby match against Sandnes, a club from a town only 14 kilometers away.

While I was playing in Viking, Sandnes was called only Ulf and played in the fourth division. Now, we're competing in the same league and I believe that's an impressive success - said Jonevret and continued:
- We've been doing quite well in training during the last week and we've concentrated on ourselves. We're going to talk about Sandnes and their good and bad sides today. We'll provide the players with all the most important information on Sandnes, but this match is all about us - we have to concentrate on our game. That's the reason we haven't been beaten on our turf this season and I hope and believe that we'll be able to continue that run.

Jonevret has two unavailable players - young forward De Lanlay, who's going to miss the rest of the season, and an important midfielder Gyan, who's been suspended.

Sandnes is still out of relegation zone mainly due to their good run in July and August when they won 5 out of 6 games. During the rest of the season, they've only won 1 match. It was a rather important one, against Sarpsborg three weeks ago. It's obvious they're in for a fierce battle against relegation and a good result against their rivals, Viking, would provide them with a confidence they desperately need, especially after two painful away defeats in a row.

In general, we have good away statistics this season. We lost last two matches 7-0 and 4-1. Viking is a strong favorite in this match. They'd been playing way below their ability in the last couple of seasons, but Kjell Jonovret managed to turn everything around. I believe that they're supposed to be in top 3 teams in the league every year. We've been experiencing only our second, very tough year since promotion. Our budget is much smaller and if we stay clear of the relegation, it'd be a much bigger success than the one last year - admitted away coach Asle Andersen.

For Sandnes, defender Andersen is unavailable due to an injury sustained at the beginning of the season, while two players are doubtful - first team striker Helle and not so important midfielder, Tonne.

Viking are achieving impressive results and they take points when they play good, that is especially true at home where they usually play at a higher level. In their last 12 matches they have only 1 defeat, they are undefeated at home this season and they won their last three matches against good teams - Brann, Stormgodset and Valerenga. They are filled with confidence and the Vikings are chasing third position and every of the remaining five matches are very important and the fact that Sandnes is a local rival just adds the flavor to their motivation.
Sandnes coach "lost himself" in his statements prior to the match and he believes his team can achieve a good result and stay in the league. But if wee look at the several last road matches of his team, it is clear he has no other choice than to speak nonsenses. Two defeats with 1-11 goal differential are a big blow to their confidence and although they won four points at home in the meantime, I do not think that left any trace on them. What Sandnes did is already a success in itself, five rounds before the end of the season they have a good chance of staying in the league, but Viking are simply much better team and I believe they will achieve a convincing win. Last season they defeated Sandnes at home 5-0 and year before that they defeated them 2-0 in the Cup.