Football Season Guide

After 12 years in the lower divisions GAIS finally got promoted back to the top flight in 2023. They secured direct promotion by finishing 2nd in the 2023 Superettan, Sweden’s second tier. GAIS were actually unfortunate not to win their division as they had both the best attack (61 goals scored) and the best defence (23 goals conceded) last season. Still, the main goal of securing promotion was achieved and now the team from Göteborg will have to remember fast what it is to play at the top level of Swedish football. Coach Holmberg will be in charge for 3rd consecutive season and he was sad to see his big star in attack Julius Lindberg leave this winter. Lindberg had 11 goals and 10 assists for GAIS in 2023. At least, this is the only big name to depart and the additions of Becirovic and Cooper-Love should provide good options in attack. GAIS don’t have many players in their ranks with rich Allsvenskan experience but they have a few veterans that know well what it takes to do well at the top level. Coach Holmberg preferred to use 3-man front line last season but now in the higher division he is expected to trust more conservative tactics. In the recent Svenska Cupen matches GAIS lined-up mainly in a 4-2-3-1 shape with Cooper-Love serving as a lone front man. It seems this will be the preferred formation in 2024, at least for the first weeks of the season.