It has been almost three weeks since the last Allsvenskan football match on the men's side. Four, for the Swedish side successful, international matches in the Nations League put the series on pause. But now the decisive part of the season finally begins, where the last round is played as late as Advent, November 29.
Is the gold battle already settled?
Probably. Sirius still leads the Allsvenskan, currently 8 points ahead of nearest challenger Hammarby and 9 points ahead of Djurgården in third place. No team has lost such a large lead in the Allsvenskan, at least not since the three-point system was introduced in 1990. Internationally, however, there are terrifying examples that can make the legs of the Uppsala audience tremble:
In the English Premier League, Manchester United lost an 8-point lead with 6 rounds remaining in the 2011/12 season. The gold instead went to Manchester City. Arsenal has also lost an 8-point lead, in the spring of 2023. Even then, it was Manchester City who overtook and took home the title.
What will it take for Sirius to lose this?
In order for Hammarby or Djurgården to have a reasonable chance of going over, Sirius must lose at least three games (or cruise more than that), while the chasing teams win almost all games.
The Stockholm derby between Hammarby and Djurgården, which awaits directly at the restart, will determine which team will be the final contender for gold.
The form of the top team
Sirius had three straight victories before the national team break and Hammarby two straight, while Djurgården lost their last match against Elfsborg.
Looking over the last five rounds, however, it is Djurgården that has taken the most points (12) ahead of Hammarby (10) and Sirius (9).
The Gold Battle's remaining schedule
Sirius:
Saturday 10 October, 15.00: Gais (b).
Sunday 18 October, 14.00: Elfsborg (h).
Saturday 24 October, 15.00: AIK (h).
Thursday 29 October, 18.30: Hammarby (b).
Tuesday 3 November, 19.00: Halmstad (h).
Sunday 8 November, 16.30: Kalmar FF (b).
Sunday 22 November, 14.00: Djurgården (h).
Sunday 29 November, 15.00: IFK Gothenburg (b).
Hammarby:
Sunday 11 October, 14.00: Djurgården (h).
Sunday 18 October, 16.30: Halmstad (b).
Sunday 25 October, 15.00: Mjällby (b).
Thursday 29 October, 18.30: Sirius (h).
Sunday 1 November, 14.00: Malmö FF (b).
Friday 6 November, 19.00: Elfsborg (h).
Monday 23 November, 19.00: IFK Gothenburg (h).
Sunday 29 November, 15.00: Västerås (b).
Djurgården:
Sunday 11 October, 14.00: Hammarby (b).
Friday 16 October, 19.00: Brommapojkarna (b).
Saturday 24 October, 17.30: Örryte (h).
Wednesday 28 October, 19.00: IFK Gothenburg (b).
Sunday 1 November, 14.00: Degerfors (h).
Sunday 8 November, 14.00: Halmstad (b).
Sunday 22 November, 14.00: Djurgården (b).
Sunday 29 November, 15.00: BK Häcken (h).
Which team has it the hardest?
On paper, Hammarby has the most demanding schedule ahead, with first a derby against Djurgården and then meetings with several top teams - including Sirius.
The Uppsala team has an almost equally tough schedule but has the advantage of playing several of the heavyweight matches (against Elfsborg, AIK and Djurgården) at home at Studenternas.
Djurgården seems to be doing the most favourably. In addition to the derby (away) against Hammarby and the home meeting with Häcken, they are otherwise pitted against teams further down the table.
The fight for the European places
Even if no other team looks like they can join the battle for gold, a bunch can still break into the top 3 and get the chance to play in the Conference League next year. Closest to hand is Elfsborg, currently in fourth place with four points up from third place Djurgården. Häcken is fifth, another point behind, and Västerås in sixth place.
The Sagittarius League
Here, too, it looks like it will be a battle between Hammarby, Djurgården and Sirius - even though the latter sold goal machine Robbie Ure this summer.
Right now, Djurgården's Norwegian Kristian Lien tops the scoring league with 16 goals, one goal ahead of Ure (who obviously won't score any more). Paulos Abraham, Hammarby, has 14 goals and Sirius Isak Bjerkebo has 13.
Tough for Halmstad at the bottom
The Hallännings are last in the Allsvenskan table - but the hope of securing continued Allsvenskan play is very much alive. Up to safe ground it is only five points. Unfortunately, in terms of schedule, Halmstad has a real nightmare ending where five of their last eight games are played against teams at the absolute top of the table: Elfsborg (October 12, b), Hammarby (October 18, h), Västerås (October 23, b), Sirius (November 3, b) and Djurgården (November 8, h).
Only 5 points separate the teams in place 13-16, which speaks for a ragged end to the bottom battle.
Several have to reverse the shape curves
At the moment, they have their noses just above the line - with the same number of points and the same goal difference as Degerfors in the qualification place but with more goals scored - but Kalmar were in a really boring trend before the break. There has not been a single victory in the Allsvenskan since the team played 2–1 against Mjällby on July 25.
Even last year's superior champion team Mjällby has a dismal streak with only two recorded points in the last six rounds. Right now, there are three points down to the streak drama - but the gold team from Listerlandet can quickly find themselves involved in the same.
Next-place Örgryte is one point ahead of Halmstad, four behind Degerfors, but has also only taken two points in its last seven games in the Allsvenskan.
Key matches in the bottom battle
Saturday 10 October, 17.30: Mjällby–Degerfors.
Monday 19 October, 19.00: Degerfors–Kalmar.
Thursday 29 October, 19.00: Örgryte–Mjällby.
Monday 23 November, 19.00: Örgryte–Kalmar.
Sunday 29 November, 15.00: Degerfors–Örgryte.
Sunday 29 November, 15.00: Halmstad–Mjällby.
