Can Malmo Win The Allsvenskan Again?

The 2011 Allsvenskan could be very competitive this season – any team from the top half of last season’s final table could be in with a chance of winning the title, but Malmö fans expecting their club to repeat their 2010 success might be disappointed.

Last season’s competition turned into a two horse race between Malmö and Helsingborgs, with the Himmelsblått eventually winning the title for the first time since 2004. Djurgården were the last club to win consecutive Allsvenskans almost ten seasons ago, so although another title for reigning champions isn’t out of the question it’s not exactly nailed on either.

So which teams are likely to challenge Malmö in 2011? Well, although Trelleborg, Mjällby, Häcken and Örebro all finished in the top half of the table last season, none of those clubs have ever won the Allsvenskan. Mjällby’s sixth place finish last season was their best ever placing in the championship and given Häcken’s recent history in the Allsvenskan they’ll probably be happy to avoid relegation.

Örebro finished in third place in 2011 and their success was based on a stingy defence – fourteen clean sheets in 30 games – but they struggled to score away from home and only earned one point from the fifteen available against other top six sides in 2010.

If Helsingborg can repeat last season’s form then they could win the title for the first time since 1999 but it’ll be interesting to see how both Elfsborg (winners in 2006) and IFK Göteborg (2007 champions) respond this season. Elfsborg have finished in the top four in the last five seasons but drew too many away games in 2010: the last time IFK Göteborg finished outside the top five they won the title the following season.

The two promoted clubs have taken very different paths to the Allsvenskan: twelve times title winners Norrköping return to the top flight after two seasons in the Superettan but Syrianska FC are making their debut, having been promoted twice in the last three seasons.