Halmstads BK play a friendly match against Östers IF on Saturday, 3 October. The fixture is part of preparations for the restart of the Allsvenskan in one week.
The team's last competitive match was a 2-1 home win against AIK Stockholm on 20 September. That victory gave the team a two-game winning streak, but in the league table Halmstads BK still sit in 16th place with 14 points from 22 games. Their next competitive fixture is away against top-four side IF Elfsborg on 11 October.
Recent form
Halmstads BK have won three of their last five matches. Besides the win over AIK, they also beat Kalmar FF and Skövde AIK. The defeats came away to IFK Göteborg and Degerfors IF. Östers IF are coming off a 1-3 home loss to IFK Norrköping last weekend. Their most recent win was against GIF Sundsvall in August.
Manager Magnus Haglund has a fully available squad to choose from for the friendly. The most recent starting eleven against AIK featured players like Tobias Rönning in goal and forwards Omar Faraj and Albin Zeljkovic. Östers IF are expected to field a similar lineup to the one against Norrköping, with Christoffer Lundahl Persson in goal.
The match is an important opportunity to test tactical changes and give playing time to the whole squad. After the game, all focus shifts to preparations for the difficult away trip to Borås.
