Ahead of Wednesday’s match at Fredrikstad Stadium, the gap between Fredrikstad and Rosenborg is just one place. The home team currently sits fourth in the Norwegian Premier League standings, while the visitors are two points clear in third, despite having played one more game than their opponents.

Fredrikstad won the Norwegian Cup and finished sixth in their first top-flight campaign since 2012, but face a tough challenge to replicate last season’s success. They are pleased and encouraged by their start to the 2025 season, with five wins, one draw and two losses in eight league games this season. That said, Fredrikstad will likely be in low spirits after a couple of disappointing results, including a fourth-round penalty shootout loss to Lillestrom that ended their Norwegian Cup title defence.

Following their cup exit, they lost a thrilling 4-3 away to Bran on Saturday, ending their five-match unbeaten run in the Norwegian Superliga. Andreas Hagen's side will still be looking to get maximum points going into Wednesday's game, having won all four of their home league games this season, three of which were clean sheets.

With five wins, three draws and one loss in nine games, Rosenborg are currently two points behind second-placed Bran and five behind leaders Viking, who have played one more game. In contrast to Wednesday's hosts, Rosenborg recently made it all the way through the fourth round of the Norwegian Cup, though they had to work hard to beat second-tier Kongsvinger in extra time.

Unfortunately, Rosenborg ended their unbeaten start to the league in disappointing fashion as they lost 4-0 away to Bodo/Glimt on Saturday, the first time they have conceded two or more goals in a league game since beating Bodo/Glimt 3-2 in October. They won 1-0 at home against Fredrikstad in April thanks to a first-half goal from Sverre Nypan, and this will be their second meeting with Fredrikstad this season.

Fredrikstad predicted starting lineup:

Fischer; Woledzi, Fredriksen, For; Eid, Metcalf, Owusu, Molde; Orenschlager, Sollok, Holten

Rosenberg predicted starting lineup:

Tangvik; Reitan, M. Ceide, Nemcik, Pereira; Zeidan, Selnaes, Nypan; Broholm, E. Ceide, Holm