Goal-shy Kalmar face a Malmö side still searching for answers
Kalmar FF travel to Eleda Stadion to face Malmö FF on Monday, 12 October 2026, as Allsvenskan resumes with round 23. Gaute Helstrup’s Malmö are eighth on 33 points, too far off second place to have much to chase, while Toni Koskela’s Kalmar sit 14th in the play-off spot, one point behind Degerfors. Kick-off is at 19:00, with Oscar Johnson the referee.
Kalmar have not scored in their last six league games and have not won away from home all season.
Predicted lineups: Malmö vs Kalmar
Malmö have a long injury list. Pontus Jansson, Oscar Sjöstrand, Kenan Busuladžić, Noah John, Warren Kamanzi and Isaac Assibu are all out, and Diego García is not ready to return. The good news for Helstrup is Sead Hakšabanović, who trained fully over the weekend after a long spell as a doubt, while Stian Gregersen is available despite taking a blow to the head in training. Kalmar are expected to be without Robert Gojani after a failed fitness test on Friday, and Aboubacar Keita, Kasper Paananen and goalkeeper Jakob Kindberg are also missing. Elion Imeri is expected to be out for the rest of the season.
Malmö Team News & Preview
This is not a vintage Malmö side. The sale of Erik Botheim to Viking at the start of September took away ten league goals, and the home record is the weakest part of their season: four wins from 11 games at Eleda Stadion, with defeats to Degerfors and Djurgården among them. Their last league game before the break was a 2-0 defeat at Västerås, although that was one in which Malmö had long spells on top and could easily have scored, with Daníel Gudjohnsen denied by a goal-line clearance.
Hakšabanović’s return is the key piece of news. He is Malmö’s highest-rated player on FotMob and has four goals and six assists, so he is effectively their main source of creativity now that Botheim has gone. With him behind Gudjohnsen, Malmö should have enough quality to create chances against a team that has been leaking goals on the road.
What works for or against Malmö
- Sead Hakšabanović (4 goals, 6 assists) is fit after training fully on Saturday and Sunday.
- Only four wins and two clean sheets from 11 home league games.
- Top scorer Erik Botheim, with ten league goals, was sold to Viking in September.
- Seven players are out, including Pontus Jansson and Kenan Busuladžić.
Kalmar Team News & Preview
Kalmar’s problem is simple: they have stopped scoring. They have gone six league games without a goal, picking up a single point, and that run ended with a 5-0 home defeat to Häcken before the break. The board kept faith with Koskela after a crisis meeting and brought Jens Nilsson back in as extra support. Koskela has argued that his side have created enough, pointing to 8.16 xG during the goalless run, but the club also sold top scorer Charlie Rosenqvist to Djurgården in August and nobody has filled that gap.
Away from home, the picture is even bleaker. Kalmar have no wins and two draws from 11 away league games, they have scored only seven goals on the road and they have failed to score in seven of those games. Without Gojani in midfield, Charles Sagoe Jr, who has eight assists this season, carries much of the creative burden on his own.
What works for or against Kalmar
- Six straight league games without a goal.
- No away win all season, with seven blanks in 11 away league games.
- Robert Gojani is expected to miss out after a failed fitness test.
- Kalmar drew 2-2 with Malmö in July and had the sharper chances that day.
- Koskela points to 8.16 xG created during the goalless run.
Malmö vs Kalmar Odds
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Malmö vs. Kalmar Stats Comparison
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Malmö vs. Kalmar Form Guide
Malmö Form, Stats & Data
Malmö average 1.68 goals per game, but that figure includes Botheim’s ten goals, so the current attack is less reliable than the season numbers suggest. The defensive side is the bigger worry: 1.50 goals conceded per game and only two home clean sheets. That is why I do not want to rely on a Malmö clean sheet here; the case rests much more on Kalmar’s inability to score.
Kalmar Form, Stats & Data
Kalmar’s 0.95 goals per game looks poor enough, but it hides how sharply the output has fallen: no league goal since 9 August. Sagoe Jr has been the one consistent attacking player, and with Rosenqvist sold, Imeri out for the season and Gojani unavailable, too much of their attacking play now depends on him.
Malmö vs Kalmar: Prediction & Betting Tip
I do not trust Malmö enough to back them at 1.72. Their home record is poor, they have lost their top scorer and they have a long injury list. What I do trust is Kalmar’s lack of goals: six league games without scoring, seven blanks in 11 away games and their most important central midfielder missing. Both Teams to Score – No covers the scenario I expect most, a Malmö win in which Kalmar draw a blank, and it also lands if Malmö fail to break through.
The biggest risk is Malmö’s defence. They concede 1.50 goals per game, have kept only two home clean sheets and were too open after falling behind at Västerås. Kalmar also had the better chances in the 2-2 draw in July, and a team that has created enough to score at some point will eventually turn the corner. I still think the current Kalmar attack is the weakest in this fixture by some distance.
I am backing Both Teams to Score – No at 2.02 with Winz, and I have it finishing 2-0.