Our next opponents: A good club for talent

Position

The runaway champions of last season – Molde won the league title with an 18 point lead over FK Bodö/Glimt – but have found it difficult to get going this season. The Norwegian top-flight began in April this year and Molde suffered five defeats in the first ten games. Holding on to the title was a distant thought. The team under coach Erling Moe are now back on track and they have not lost a league match since the middle of June. The gap to league leaders Viking Stavanger is ten points with seven games to play. Molde are currently fifth in the table. The cup celebrated a special win on Sunday. They sent league leaders Stavanger packing with a 4-0 victory in a rearranged game on matchday 20. The goals at the Molde Stadium were scored by the captain Magnus Eikrem (two), Kristoffer Haugen and Kristian Eriksen. The Blue and Whites were particularly dangerous down the left flank. Haugen was named Man of the Match with one goal, two assists and a shot against the post.

The Norwegian club founded in 1911 almost qualified for the Champions League this season. After winning in the first two qualifying rounds against HJK Helsinki (0-1; 2-0) and the Faroese club KI Klaksvik (1-2; 2-0), Molde narrowly lost in the third round to Galatasaray, the new club for former Bayer 04 player Kerem Demirbay. After a 3-2 defeat at home, the Moe team lost 2-1 in Istanbul but put up a strong display. Molde started the group stage in the UEFA Europa League campaign with a 1-0 defeat away to Azerbaijani champions Qarabag. The home team were top in the stats in terms of possession (60% to 40%), pass completion (83% to 68%) and shots (20 to 5).

The previous best performances on the European stage for Molde were reaching the Champions League group stage in 1999/00 and the Round of 16 in the Europa League in 2020/21. In the Round of 32 three years ago, the Norwegians knocked out TSG Hoffenheim (3-3; 2-0). The next round saw them lose out to Granada (0-2, 2-1).

Personnel

That the five-time Norwegian champions are a good club for outstanding players as demonstrated by names like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Erling Haaland. Solskjaer played for Molde for two years (1994-1996) before the top striker moved on to Manchester United (235 games, 92 goals) and he later went on to lead Molde to their first two league title wins as coach in 2011 and 2012. Erling Haaland left Molde in 2019 after two years to play for RB Salzburg and he is now one of the best strikers in the world playing for Manchester City.

Emil Breivik is currently considered to be one of the most talented midfield players in Norway. The 23-year-old came through the club's youth ranks and was in the national team squad under Stale Solbakken a few weeks ago. This season, Breivik is the top scorer and provider for Molde with six goals and five assists. The club, full of Norwegian players with the exception of the American Christian Cappis and the Dane Anders Hagelskjaer, had to cope with the transfer of a another highly talented midfielder: Sivert Mannsverk left Molde just before the transfer window closed and is now at Ajax. The 31-year-old Fredrik Gulbrandsen, who played for Molde between 2013 and 2016, was brought in as a replacement on his return to Norway from Turkey.

Coach Moe usually plays a back three in front of goalkeeper Jacob Karlstrøm. The players available are the experienced Martin Bjørnbak, Erik Haugan and Anders Hagelskjaer as well as the youngster Caspar Øyvann. Another defensive player has recently been available again in the shape of Martin Ellingsen. The 26-year-old defender made his comeback at the end of July after almost 22 months out due to a torn cruciate and he has been part of the team for every game since his first start back in the second leg against Galatasaray. The stalwart can play in the back three or in holding midfield. One absentee against the Werkself could be the right-sided player Martin Linnes, who likes to get forward and has already scored six goals this term, after he missed out in the 4-0 victory against Stavanger due to injury.

The most dangerous striker is the captain Magnus Eikrem. His brace against league leaders Viking Stavanger took him up to six goals and six assists in 14 games. New signing Veton Berisha (Hammarby IF) has scored three goals (two assists) in 17 appearances. Also strong in attack is Erich Kitolano (four goals and three assists in 16 league games). The loss of Ola Brynhildsen has been particularly hard felt. The top striker scored seven goals for Molde (four assists) this season before moving on to Denmark on 1 September to play for FC Midtjylland.

Performers

With just 25 goals conceded in 30 games, Molde conceded by far the fewest goals when they won the Norwegian league last season. And in the current campaign, the club have the second best defence in fifth position with 24 goals conceded. They have kept eight clean sheets – the highest number in Norway's Eliteserien. Compact defending is definitely one of Molde's biggest strengths.

Problems

The Norwegian team do not have many attacking players. Trained strikers are Veton Berisha and Fredrik Gulbrandsen. Both are not the tallest players at a height of 1.7 metres. Players often used in attack are Magnus Eikrem (1.73 metres) and Eric Kitolano (1.75 metres) who usually play in attacking midfield and also pose little aerial threat due to their size. The Norwegians are lacking physically strong and athletic players up front.

Prediction

After the 1-0 defeat in the opener at Qarabag, Molde are now under pressure at home to the Werkself. The Norwegian side are difficult to beat at the small Molde Stadium (11,249 capacity). The club has been one of the strongest teams at home in the Eliteserien in recent years. And Molde also have a good record against German teams. The Blue and Whites are unbeaten in five games against Bundesliga teams. They not only beat TSG Hoffenheim three years ago (see above) but also secured wins against VfB Stuttgart twice (2-0; 1-0) in the group stage of the Europa League in 2012/13. The Black and Reds should be prepared for a tough opponent who are in with a chance of finishing in one of the two top places in Group H.