Fresh off the back of a brilliant display in the Conference League qualifiers, SK Brann journey to the Marienlyst Stadion to face Stromsgodset in round 18 of the Norwegian Eliteserien on Sunday. Having failed to win any of their seven matches since the start of June, the hosts will head into the weekend in search of a pick-me-up as they look to rekindle their push for European qualification.

Stromsgodset failed to stop the rot as they suffered a somewhat disappointing 2-0 defeat at the hands of Odd when the two sides squared off at the Skagerak Arena last Sunday. After Filip Ronningen Jorgensen and Tobias Hammer Svendsen scored in a five-minute spell to give them a two-goal lead, Odd turned in an impressive defensive performance in the second half to see out just their fourth league win of the season.

Stromsgodset have now lost three games on the bounce and are without a win in seven back-to-back matches across all competitions, losing four and claiming three draws since a 3-1 victory over Sarpsborg on May 26. This poor run of results has been owing to their struggles at the attacking end of the pitch, where Jorgen Isnes's men have scored just three goals in their last six Eliteserien matches while conceding eight since the start of June.

With last week's result, Stromsgodset have now lost seven of their 16 league matches while claiming five wins and four draws to collect 19 points and sit eighth in the table, nine points adrift of the European qualifying places.

Brann, on the other hand, booked their spot in the Conference League third qualifying round courtesy of a 2-1 victory over Go Ahead Eagles at the Brann Stadion on Thursday. Having held on for a goalless draw in Netherlands, Brann had to dig deep in the return leg as Bard Finne and Fredrick Knudsen hit the target to cancel out Soren Tengstedt's second-minute opener to turn the game on its head in front of their home supporters.

Head coach Eirik Horneland will hope that Thursday's victory can serve as a springboard for a fine run of form as his side return to action in the Eliteserien, where they have failed to win any of their last four matches, picking up just three points from the last 12 available. Brann's last league victory came on June 1, when they beat HamKam 2-1 at the Briskeby Stadium thanks to goals in either half from Joachim Soltvedt and 24-year-old forward Ole Didrik Blomberg.

The Bergens stolthet have picked up eight wins and six draws from their 17 Eliteserien matches so far to collect 30 points and sit third in the standings, seven points adrift of league leaders Bodo/Glimt. While Brann will look to pick up where they left off against Go Ahead Eagles and find their feet in the league, they will have to be at their best at the Marienlyst Stadion, where they have lost each of their last four visits and are on a seven-game winless run since claiming a 4-1 victory in September 2014.

Stromsgodset head into the weekend without the services of Norwegian defender Sondre Hassen, who has been out of action since picking up a back injury in April's game against Valerenga. Kosovan midfielder Kreshnik Krasniqi is also ruled out of this weekend's clash as he is set to sit out his sixth straight game after coming off injured against Odd on June 2. Ole Enersen continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines after picking up a severe injury against Lillestrom in February and the 21-year-old forward is also out of contention for Sunday's tie.

As for Brann, Horneland will be unable to name Niklas Wassberg and teenage defender Jonas Torsvik, who are currently recuperating from muscle and groin injuries respectively. Moonga Simba has been sidelined since April through a severe injury while Svenn Crone is a doubt after missing the game against Go Ahead Eagles last time out through a groin problem.

Buoyed by their victory in the Conference League qualifiers, Brann will head into Sunday's tie with sky-high confidence as they look to break their Marienlyst Stadion hoodoo. Stromsgodset's form is currently nothing to write home about and I'm backing the Bergens stolthet to come away with a narrow victory in this one.

刚刚在东部联赛预选赛中表现出色的SK Brann，将在周日前往Marienlyst球场与挪威精英队的第18轮比赛中对阵strom godset。自六月初以来，东道主在七场比赛中一场都没有获胜，他们将在周末寻找一场振奋人心的比赛，因为他们希望重新点燃他们的欧洲资格。

上周日，在斯卡格拉克体育场，斯特罗姆戈特未能阻止这一颓势，他们以0 - 2的比分输给了奥德。约根森和斯文森在五分钟内分别进球，帮助球队取得两球领先。下半场，奥德在防守上的表现令人印象深刻，帮助球队取得了本赛季联赛的第四场胜利。

自5月26日3:1战胜萨尔普斯堡以来，斯特罗姆斯戈塞特已经连续7场背靠背比赛没有取得胜利，输掉了4场比赛，取得了3场平局。这一连串糟糕的结果是由于他们在进攻端的挣扎，在过去的六场精英联赛中，约尔根·伊斯内斯的球员只进了3球，自6月初以来丢了8球。

根据上周的结果，斯特罗姆戈德塞特在16场联赛中输掉了7场，同时取得了5胜4平的成绩，积19分，排名第八位，与欧洲预选赛的名额相差9分。

另一方面，布兰恩队周四在布兰恩球场以2-1战胜Go Ahead Eagles，获得了联盟第三轮预选赛的席位。在与荷兰的比赛中保持0比0的平局后，布兰恩不得不在第二回合的比赛中发挥更大，巴德·芬恩和弗雷德里克·克努森的进球弥补了索伦·滕施泰特在第二分钟的进球，在主场球迷面前扭转了比赛的局面。

主教练埃里克·霍尼兰希望周四的胜利能成为球队在精英联赛中恢复良好状态的跳板，他们在过去的四场比赛中一场都没有获胜，在过去的12场比赛中只拿到了3分。布兰恩的上一场联赛胜利是在6月1日，当时他们在布里斯基比球场2-1击败哈姆卡姆，这要归功于索尔特维特和24岁前锋布隆伯格在上半场和下半场的进球。

到目前为止，卑尔根斯队在17场精英联赛中取得了8胜6平的成绩，积分为30分，排名第三，与联赛领头羊博多/格里姆特相差7分。虽然布兰恩希望在对阵“前进的老鹰”的比赛中继续前进，并在联赛中站稳脚跟，但他们必须在马里昂利斯特球场发挥出最佳状态，他们在过去的四次客场比赛中都输掉了比赛，自2014年9月以4比1获胜以来，他们已经七场未胜。

斯特罗姆戈特在没有挪威后卫桑德雷·哈森的情况下进入了周末的比赛，自从他在四月对阵瓦莱伦加的比赛中背部受伤以来，他一直没有参加比赛。科索沃中场克拉斯尼奇也将缺席本周末的比赛，他在6月2日对奥德的比赛中受伤下场后将连续缺席6场比赛。奥莱·埃内森在2月份对利莱斯特罗姆的比赛中受了重伤，之后他继续在场边休息，这名21岁的前锋也没有参加周日的比赛。

至于布兰恩，霍尼兰将无法命名瓦斯伯格和托斯维克，他们目前分别从肌肉和腹股沟受伤中恢复。蒙加·辛巴自4月以来就因重伤缺阵，而斯万·克罗恩则因腹股沟问题缺席了上一场对阵鹰队的比赛，目前能否上场仍是个疑问。

在西部联赛预选赛的胜利鼓舞下，布兰恩将带着极大的信心进入周日的比赛，因为他们希望打破他们在马里昂利斯特球场的魔咒。斯特罗姆戈德塞特的状态目前没有什么值得大书特书的，我支持卑尔根斯队在这场比赛中以微弱优势获胜。