This coming weekend will see the return of the Danish Superliga when the 2^nd half of the season commences. With only 15 games to play the teams in contention for the title will have to be at their game from the start as there will be little room for slow-starters. Expertbookmakers.com will take you through the 12 teams and their prospects for the remaining 2009/2010 season. The league table is as follows:

 

TEam	Points	Won-Draw-Lost	Goaldiff.
OB	38	11-5-2	29-17
FC Copenhagen	37	11-4-3	31-11
Esbjerg	33	9-6-3	31-21
Silkeborg IF	29	8-5-5	30-20
Brondby IF	27	8-3-7	35-32
AGF	27	7-6-5	24-23
AaB	25	7-4-7	20-15
FC Nordsjaelland	23	7-2-9	21-24
Soenderjyske	22	6-4-8	15-18
FC Midtjylland	21	6-3-9	22-31
Randers FC	8	1-5-12	13-33
HB Koge	8	1-5-12	15-41

 

 

OB:

OB or Odense Boldklub as their full name is, has spend the winter wondering if this is going to be the season where they win their first title since 1999. Throughout the last 5 years OB has performed consistently in the Danish Super league finishing in the top 4 and the team seem ready to take the final step towards Danish Glory. The transfer window has not resulted in any important players leaving the team and OB has a very competent squad including former Manchester United midfielder Eric Djemba Djemba and former Mancheser United keeper Roy Carol. They also hold the leagues topscorer, Nigerian Peter Utaka who has scored consistently through the first half of the season, totalling 13 goals. OB has renewed contracts with their captain Chris Sorensen and all-round midfielder Hans Henrik Andreasen. Eric Djemba Djemba, Roy Carol and Njogu Demna-Nyren are somewhat doubtful for the season opener away against FC Midtjylland but are expected to start. OB has a well founded concept to play from with international class at every position. Their friendly matches going into the season opener has resulted in 4 wins and 3 losses.

 

 

Experbookmakers prediction: Finish 1^st – Peter Utaka crowned as league top scorer with 24 goals

 

 

FC Copenhagen:

 

The defending Danish Champions find themselves in 2^nd position and could in fact have been further down the table if they hadn’t pulled out a win in the last game against OB. With 1 point up they have all to play for and are coming into the season opener with 2 fresh Euro League games against Olympique Marseille in their mind. The games shoved that Danish football still have some distance to cover before they seriously can challenge Europe’s top teams. For some years now FC Copenhagen has been the Danish flagship in Europe, both in terms of professionalism and economic performance but the recent financial crisis has seen the company behind the Club, Parken Sport & Entertainment, struggle and the demise of general manager Flemming Oestergaard who has been forced out of the board of directors. This being said though, FC Copenhagen has the players to win it and with their European campaign over and the fact that they are no longer in the Danish cup tournament, they can focus 100% on winning the league. Much will depend on Jesper Groenkjær and whether or not his knee will stay fit for fight. Also the attacking trio of Dame N’doye, Cesar Santin and Ailton Almeida will have to find their form if FC Copenhagen is to challenge OB. Their friendly matches leading into the season has seen them win 4, draw 1 and loose 2.

 

 

Expertbookmakers prediction: Finish in 2^nd position

 

 

Esbjerg:

One of the positive surprises of the season has so far been Esbjerg. At this time last year Esbjerg employed former coach, Ove Pedersen with a simple task of taking Esbjerg away from the relegation slump that they had positioned themselves in. He did that in convincing style finishing 9^th, 7 points clear of relegation. In the 2003/2004 season, during Ove Pedersens last period as coach in Esbjerg, he almost led them to their first Danish championship since 1979 but at the end his inexperienced squad saw them finishing 3^rd. This time around he has brought the same structure with him and his ability to find skilled players with a low budget is extraordinary. He has brought in Dutch attacker Tim Jannsen which so far has scored 8 of Esbjerg’s 31 goals. Esbjerg has played some very positive football with their trademark being their ability to quickly gain possession of the ball and switch from defence to offence. Key players are National player and worldcup contender Soren Rieks, Tim Jannsen, Defensive midfielder Jepser Jorgensen and central defender Nicolai Hoegh. The transfer window has seen the team captain Frederic Björk leave. His replacement is Thomas Gaardsoe, a player who 2-years ago retired due to health issues. Esbjerg will be without left back Kevin Conboy for an unknown number of games as he has undergone back surgery. Esbjerg will open the season with home games against the 2 lowest ranked teams HB Koge and Randers FC – if these games result in wins, Esbjerg could very well find themselves seriously challenging the duo of OB and FC Copenhagen. Esbjerg is unbeaten in the friendly matches leading into the season opener with 7 wins and 4 draws. It is worth noticing that they beat Rubin Kazan 3-1 in one of these matches.

 

 

Expertbookmakers prediction: Finish in 3^rd position

 

 

Silkeborg:

Without any doubt the biggest upset in the 1^st half of the season. Newly promoted Silkeborg has played fantastic and made the most of their current squad. Former Esbjerg coach Troels Bech has  brought along Esbjerg players Frank Hansen and Jesper Bech to Silkeborg and under has guidance in new surroundings, they have grown. Their fantastic first half of the season has further seen striker Rajko Lekic, defender Jim Larsen and midfielder Martin Ornskov being selected to the Danish national team with slim chances of being selected for the coming World Cup squad. The transfer window has not seen any important players leave, however the last game before the break saw veteran defender Steven Lüstu retire from football. The good news is that Silkeborg has managed to renew contracts with Peter Degn who is their most dominant player when it comes to assist. This will no doubt be welcomed by top-scorer Rajko Lekic who has contributed with 10 goals and is in the pursuit of Peter Utaka to become league top-scorer. In my opinion Silkeborg played a little above their ability in the first half of the season and it is doubtful if they can keep up the steam. Silkeborg’s friendly matches resulted in 4 draws and 1 win going into the season opener.

 

 

Expertbookmakers prediction; Finish in 5^th position

 

Brondby:

Since the late eighties Brondby has been a major contender in Danish football and for years they fought out a fierce battle with FC Copenhagen for the Danish throne. However recent years have seen Brondby slump to being not more than an average Super League team. A lot of turmoil inside the boardrooms, sponsors interfering with the everyday business of the club, firing of the sports manager (which by the way is the son of the General Manager, Per Bjerregaard), has left an image of a club in despair. A lot of players have been signed during the last couple of years with basically none of them performing to the level that was expected of them. Their current coach, Kent Nielsen, has been subject to a lot of criticism for his defensive style of play and the hardcore fans blame him for not having an approach worthy of representing the Brondby style of play, which has always been entertaining and attacking. The transfer window has seen Brondby say goodbye to their top-scorer Morten Rasmussen who signed with Celtic. This is a major blow for Brondby as he leaves with 12 goals for the season and a physical presence and target player ability that will be missed. Left is the question of whether Martin Bernburg can fill his shoes and if Alexander Farnerud can show some of the form that send him to the club. Brondby will kick off their second half of the season against Sonderjyske. Taking the time of year and temperature in Denmark into consideration this will be an ugly physical match that should suit Sonderjyske the best. I do not expect Brondby to move in the table as they do not have the right players in terms of playing the way that Kent Nielsen wants to play and that has created to big swings in their performances. They can beat any given team in the league on the right day but also have the ability to fall completely out of a match. Brondby’s pre-season friendly match record shows 3 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses.

 

 

Expertbookmakers prediction: 6^th position

 

AGF:

The season started splendid for AGF and quickly they began to talk about winning the Superleague. Shortly thereafter things started to go wrong for AGF and they have spend the rest of the season struggling to find their winning ways again. The key for AGF has always been injuries and this season has not been an exception. Key defender Dan Thomassen ran into problems, his replacement Mark Howard injured his ankle and the list goes on. AGF has a very talented squad and youth development program but they can not withstand 3-4 injuries to key players like was the case last year. The transfer window resulted in the signing of Martin Jorgensen, the long lost son of Aarhus. His return to the team where it all began 15 years ago has sparked hopes of a new run towards the top of the league. Also they managed to keep star midfielder Jakob Poulsen from signing with SS Lazio. Other players arriving at AGF this window is defender Dennis Cagara (once a Hertha Berlin player) and attacking wing Stephan Petersen from Nordsjaelland. Only important player leaving is striker Nando Rafael who has been loaned to Augsburg in the German 2. Bundesliga. With their midfield consisting of Martin Jorgensen, Jakob Poulsen and American rising star Benny Feilhaber, AGF is a team to be taken seriously BUT much relies on these players to stay fit. Already for the season opener against FC Copenhagen, they will miss the likes of Jakob Poulsen and Benny Feilhaber and this will leave coach Erik Rasmussen with a serious headache. Latest news is that crowd favourite and star attacker Peter Grauland is also ruled out due to a slipped disc in his neck. AGF has won 3, drawn 3 and lost 2 pre-season friendly matches.

 

 

Experbookmakers prediction: 4^th position 

 

AaB:

AaB haven’t had the season they expected so far. Only 20 goals scored in 18 games and 15 goals against shows that the teams is usually involved in close games. AaB biggest problem has been that they are missing a first class goal scorer like they had in the 2007/2008 season when Jeppe Curth became league top scorer with 17 goals. Jeppe Curth is still the preferred man in front but he is no where near the form he showed during his record season that also saw AaB win the Danish Superleague. The club has pretty much managed to keep the same squad intact, except for striker Rade Prica, and have also managed to add a few new signings. In the friendly games leading into the season opened against FC Nordsjaelland, they have tested a number of youth players that could be knocking on the door for a place in the squad shortly. Profile on the AaB team is midfielder Andreas Johansson who has been consistent throughout his years in AaB and really consistency has been AaB’s biggest lack this season. Their pre-season record shows 3 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses.

 

 

Expertbookmakers prediction: 7^th position

 

 

FC Nordsjaelland:

Coach Morten Wieghorst has built an exciting young team that offensively can match any team in the league. Their defence leaves some room for improvement though and in some of the matches the distance between offence and defence has simply been too big, resulting in allowing easy goals for the opponents. The transfer window have seen quite a few players leave; defensive midfielder Morten Karlsen to Randers FC, Defender Dennis Cagara to AGF and Wing Stephan Petersen to AGF so it seems like a slightly weakened FC Nordsjaelland team that will start the season away against AaB. They still have a very potent team though with especially striker Rawaz Lawan and newly signed Sibusiso Zuma looking interesting. They also hold the son of former Danish soccer star Michael Laudrup, Andreas Laudrup in their squad. He is still a young player but has showed glimpse of his talent, reminding people of the genius of his farther. Their friendly matches leading into the Superliga start has been mixed with 3 looses, 3 draws and 2 wins.

 

 

Expertbookmakers prediction: 8^th position

 

 

Sonderjyske:

With a very limited budget Sonderjyske has performed way beyond what has expected. Doomed to hold one of the two relegation spots by many so-called experts, Sonderjyske has played amazing within their concept of hard work and team spirit. It’s not the most exciting team to watch but they know exactly what their limitations are and design their game around this. With safe distance to the relegation zone, they can spend the rest of the season preparing for next season. Their season preparations saw the players pay for a training camp outside Denmark in order to get some proper training on grass before the Danish season opener against Brondby. They are having problems finding sponsors but inside the pitch their strong collective spirit prevails. The transfer window has seen important defender Anders Egholm leave the club in favour of Randers but besides this the squad is intact. Sonderjyske’s pre-season match’s shows 1 win, 2 draws and 2 losses.

 

 

Expertbookmakers prediction: 10^th position

 

FC Midtjylland:

For big parts of the season they found themselves in the relegation zone and it seemed like the players had started to doubt their abilities. They got back on track and now find themselves in safe distance of relegation. However much has changed in the club that once had so big ambitions. Their original strategy was to win the Danish Superliga before 2011 with their closest being a 2^nd position in the 2007/2008 season. Recent economic crisis has done much harm to their business model and the latest financial reports publicised showed a huge deficit resulting in cut downs and turn down in ambitions. Gone is the ambition of being Danish Champion in 2011 and now the motto seems to be to do more with less. This is a new challenge for the club and something that team coach Allan Kuhn realises. However they have a very competent squad that definitely has the talent to finish much higher in the table. The season opener will see the return of striker Frank Kristensen who fractured his leg late in the first half of the season. He has been a key player for them along side midfielder Mikkel Thygesen. Their pre-season preparation has resulted in 0 wins, 4 draws and 2 losses.

 

 

Expertbookmakers prediction: 9^th position

 

 

Randers FC:

Without comparison the biggest negative surprise of the season. Before the season it was expected that this was going to be the year where they finally could challenge the top 4 teams in Denmark and maybe even squeeze into the top 3 and a medal. They had been building up to this ever since their promotion in the 2005/2006 season but 4 years of good work has now been turned into a nightmare with almost sure relegation. They only got their first win of the season in the last game before the break at the hands of HB Koge. Their bad run saw coach John “Faxe” Jensen being fired and replaced with defensive expert Ove Christensen but it has proven a little to late. The loosing streak had taken its tall on the players and it really seems like they have lost all confidence in themselves. Some of the goals they conceded during the season were straightforward embarrassing with Ove Christensen almost not knowing where to start. Randers has kept their squad intact for this second half of the season, adding defensive midfielder Morten Karlsen. They start of with a 13-point deficit and really needs to come out firing from the first minute. They will visit Esbjerg in the first game and if they do not manage to get points in this game they could very well be heading for the 1^st division. Basically all of their players performed below their capabilities in the first half so everybody must join forces and step up to the task if Randers is to have just a glimpse of hope of salvation. Their pre-season matches have resulted in 2 wins, 1 draw and 4 losses.

 

 

Expertbookmakers prediction: 11^th position

 

HB Koge:

No real surprise to anyone that the team is finding themselves last. They got off to a terrible start of the season that saw them loose 1-7 in one of the first games against FC Copenhagen. Since then they have picked up their game and actually proven a handful in quite a lot of the games. They are playing from a very defensive starting point that usually keeps them in contention deep into the matches. They have however conceded several late goals which must to be fixed if they are to put more points into their account. Early in the season, coach Auri Skabalius announced that their goal wasn’t to stay clear of relegation but to play football to the best of their capabilities. This remark created some press attention but in my mind it was a realistic comment from the coach. HB Koge doesn’t have the skills nor financial capabilities to be in the Danish Superliga and hence their position. The transfer window has seen them loose wing Sebastian Andersen to Esbjerg. Their pre-season matches have resulted in 1 win, 0 draws and 5 losses.

 

 

Expertbookmakers prediction: 12^th position

 

 

Season opening matches and tips

 

FC Midtjylland vs. OB	OB to win
Esbjerg vs. Randers FC	Esbjerg to win
HB Koge vs. Silkeborg	Silkeborg to win
Brondby IF vs. Sonderjyske	Draw
FC Copenhagen vs. AGF	FC Copenhagen to win
AaB vs. FC Nordsjaelland	Draw