Football Season Guide

The 2017 season was Ostersunds most successful ever. A fifth place finish in the Allsvenskan as well as an incredible Europa League run which saw them overcome Galatasaray, PAOK and Hertha Berlin, even beating Arsenal at the Emirates before bowing out, was some achievement for Graham Potter's men. It will be hard to follow that up this year, especially with a few high profile departures, but another fifth place finish is almost certainly up for grabs. Ostersunds ran Malmo mighty close in the recent cup semi-final, so they are more than capable of giving the current champions a game. The real challenge will be to find an intensity and consistency worthy of Malmo. Their starting eleven might not be that different in terms of quality, but Malmo have a much more meaty squad. And that will again prove to be the difference in 2018. There is always the danger, when playing on the biggest European stage, that players will be seen by other clubs and be snapped up after strong performances. That has happened to Ostersunds ahead of the this season, with Gabriel Somi and somewhat more disappointingly Fouad Bachirou, with the midfielder opting for a move to champions Malmo. But the likes of Saman Ghoddos, Sotirios Papagiannopoulos and Aly Keita remain, so there's plenty of optimism in the ranks. The signing of Noah Sonko Sundberg from AIK bolsters the defence greatly.