Europa League | League Stage

Jan 23, 2025 at 5.45pm UK

Malmo Stadion

Malmo vs FC Twente

Match preview

Having won the Swedish Allsvenskan title in four of the last five seasons, it is fair to say that Malmo are the dominant force on their domestic stage, but Thursday's hosts at the Eleda Stadion have seriously struggled to make an impact in the 2024-25 Europa League.

With the Swedish league system operating on a yearly basis, Di Blae have had over a month to recover from their last competitive fixture on 12 December, when the Scandinavian champions shared the points with Turkish side Galatasaray.

Erik Botheim, who opened the scoring in that match at the Eleda Stadium, has continued to lead Malmo's attack in the league this season, with the 25-year-old Norwegian also finding the net in a 4-1 defeat at the home of Ferencvaros on 28 November.

Having recorded their only Europa League win of the campaign at Qarabag FK in early October, Di Blae's side face an uphill battle to qualify for the play-offs next week, with the Swedish side currently sitting in 31st place in the league, three points behind Elfsborg in 24th.

Since returning from their respective winter breaks, FC Twente have enjoyed a mixed run of results on the domestic front, which began with a 6-2 win over Willem II on home soil.

The Tukkers were unceremoniously dumped out of the KNVB Cup by league rivals Go Ahead Eagles on 15 January, before suffering a narrow defeat in Sweden on Thursday at NAC Breda, who finished eighth in the Eerste Divisie last season.

Thanks to a positive turnaround in fortunes in recent years, Twente will be looking to avoid three successive defeats in all competitions for the first time since May 2021, when they went on a four-match losing streak at the end of a difficult 2020-21 campaign.

Leading the Eredivisie Golden Boot race despite plying his trade in the middle of the park, 15-goal sensation Sem Steijn is undoubtedly the Tukkers' main man, although the 23-year-old has yet to find the net in 373 minutes of Europa League action this term.

Recent Performance

Malmo Europa League form:LWLLLD

Malmo form (all competitions):DLWLWD

FC Twente Europa League form:DDLDLD

FC Twente form (all competitions):WWLWLL

Team News

Malmo will be without the services of Pontus Jansson, who has been out since mid-November with a serious knee injury.

Di Blae will also be without the services of Johan Dahlin, who has been ruled out until the end of the season with a cruciate ligament problem.

The hosts are also short of options on the flanks with Sead Haksabanovic and Stefano Holmquist both out with groin and back problems respectively.

Sam Lammers, who scored against Manchester United at Old Trafford at the start of the league phase, remains on the sidelines for Twente, with the former Rangers man expected to return in early February.

The Tukkers' options in attack are further limited by the absence of Younes Taha, who suffered a serious broken leg in September.

Possible starting lineup

Malmo possible starting lineup:

Persson; Larsen, Rosler, Zatterstrom, Busanello; Rosengren, Johnsen, Rieks, Christiansen, Bolin; Botheim

FC Twente possible starting lineup:

Unnerstall; Van Rooij, Hilgers, Van Hoorenbeeck, Salah-Eddine; Regeer, Sadilek, Rots, Steijn, Vlap; Van Wolfswinkel