Denmark Superliga predictions and odds

If value betting is your goal, finding the right league is very important. Betting experts and veteran punters generally recommend smaller leagues that don’t have every detail constantly analysed by the entire world. However, you can’t really go too small either – that just leaves you without proper information to base your bets on.

The Danish Superliga strikes a nice middle ground here. It has some top-notch football overall but is not hugely popular outside Denmark. In this article, we’ll be taking a look at and its history, teams and players, and other information useful for Danish Superliga betting.

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Denmark Superliga Predictions

29/05/2022

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Danish Superliga History and General Info

Administered by the Danish Football Association, the Superliga is the highest echelon of professional football in Denmark. It was founded relatively recently in 1991 when it replaced the Danish 1st Division as the highest tier in the country.

However, the 1st division was not the first of its kind, either. Professional football in Denmark stretches as far back as 1912, although back then the champions were determined in a tournament format called the National Football Tournament (Landsfodboldturneringen.) This switched to a more typical league format in 1927. However, what became known as the 1st Division only came about after the end of World War 2.

These days, the 1st Division represents the second tier of professional football in Denmark.

Due to various sponsorship deals, the Superliga has changed quite a few names over the years. These have included Coca-Cola, Scandinavian Airways, and several others. For the same reasons, this upcoming season it will be dubbed the 3F Superliga, in honour of the Danish trade union 3F.

Up until the 1995-96 season, the number of teams competing in this league was 10. After that, this number was brought up to 12 which lasted until 2015. During that time, the number was increased again to 14, which remains true today.

According to this new structure, each team plays every other team twice, once home and once away, resulting in 26 matches per season for each team. Once this first round is complete, the league splits into a six-team championship playoff and an eight-team qualifying playoff. The points earned in the first round carry over after this division, but a team can only compete against teams in their respective playoff group.

The championship playoffs consist of each team going up against every other team, again with a full home and away schedule. The team that finishes at the top in of this playoff group is named the Superliga champion and moves on to the second qualifying round of the Champions League. The runners-up are instead sent to the first qualifying round of the Europa League. The third-placed team advances to a one-off playoff match for another Europa League placement.

The qualifying playoff round is again split into two groups, with the teams that finished the regular season in 7th, 10th, 11th, and 14th in one group and those finishing 8th, 9th, 12th, and 13th in the other. Whoever wins this tournament has a chance to move on to the Europa League after facing the 3rd-placed championship playoff team in a one-off match.

The two bottom-placed teams from each of these groups instead have to play relegation playoffs. This process works through a system of knockouts and may result in a team being relegated to the Danish 1st Division – while the best-placed teams from this second-tier league get a chance to move up to the Superliga.

If we were to account for all of the Danish top-level leagues we mentioned previously, the club that took home the most titles would be Kjøbenhavns Boldklub, often referred to as KB. Under that name, they won the league title 15 times and were runners-up another 13.

In 1991, however, this club merged with B 1903 to form F.C. Copenhagen. This club would go on to become the Superliga’s most decorated team with 13 titles. They are followed by Brøndby IF with 10 wins and Ab with 9. If we only take into account the years after 1991, though, third place would go to Aalborg BK.

The all-time top scorer record is currently held by striker Morten "Duncan" Rasmussen with 145 goals total, who played for Brøndby, AGF, Aalborg, and Midtjylland at different stages of his career. He currently works as a coach for Midtjylland.

However, last season saw a new record set in terms of most goals scored during a single season, which went to Copenhagen’s Robert Skov.

Danish Superliga Title Challengers (UPDATED 2021)

We’ve always maintained that the Superligaen is one of the more exciting small leagues in Europe, and the outright betting odds prove that. The rivalry between FC Copenhagen and Midtjylland is as relevant as ever, but the 2020/21 season brought about bigger upsets than we’ve seen in years. Bröndby IF narrowly snatched the title away from both of the favourite squads, leaving the traditional favourites from the capital in 4th place.

Just which squad is most likely to win the title this year remains a matter of some debate. Depending on the bookmaker you check, you might find wildly different results. Moreover, we’re seeing some large changes near the top of the standings – most notably, Aarhus GF are no longer considered as strong as they once were, despite the strong 3rd place finish last season.

Either way, Copenhagen and Midtjylland are consistently found with the shortest Denmark Superligaen outright betting odds. Both are in the 2.10 to 2.35 range – though which one is higher than the other depends on the bookie. Defending champions Brondby are considerably weaker at 10.00, and Randers FC follow at 19.00 as last season’s Cup winners.

F.C Copenhagen

Copenhagen may be Denmark’s most decorated club, but their dominance over the national top-flight league has been slowly slipping since the turn of the decade. The 4th place from last season was the worst result we’ve seen from them in quite a while, and they’ll be fighting to climb back up to the top.

That said, most Superliga betting predictions don’t expect them to perform nearly as poorly as last season. The strong betting odds paint them quite favourably, but plenty of pundits and experts have expressed agreement with their lineup changes. They’re around 7.00 in the hole for recent arrivals, which is plenty for a league of this size.

Centre-forward Jonas Wind is still a strong asset, with 11 goals scored last season over just 18 appearances. Mohammed Daramy is a rising star winger we already talked about at length and might provide Copenhagen with the width most of their rivals seem to lack.

Speaking of which, most of the freshly acquired faces are focused on shoring up defences along the centre. This includes Shaktar Donetsk’s centre-back Davit Khocholava and midfielder Lukas Lerager. On the flip side, left-winger Viktor Fischer and right-back Guillermo Varela will not be playing in Copenhagen in 2021/22.

FC Midtjylland

The Wolves snatched the title in 2019/20 but missed the mark last year by a narrow 2-point margin. Still, despite a relatively short history and considerably lower overall market value, they’re generally seen as the only Danish team that can hold a torch up to Copenhagen. Well, the previous season may have changed some opinions, but the gist is that Midtjylland are the Lions’ biggest rivals and a strong favourite to win the title. The difference between them and Copenhagen is one of the smallest in Europe if we only consider leagues dominated by 2 teams. In other words, we’re looking at some very exciting showdowns. That said, their first-ever stint in the 2020/21 Champions League didn’t get very far. They were knocked out in the group stage.

The Wolves’ successes are generally grounded in a strong defence coupled with fast connecting midfielders. Examples include midfielder Evander and Pione Sisto and Awer Mabil on the wings, along with defenders Jens Cajuste and team captain Erik Sviatchenko.

This year’s transfer window was a lot less active than the previous one, though. Defender Henrik Dalsgaard was brought in from Brentford, though his involvement may be limited due to contracting Covid-19. The arrival of Juninho represents another effort to further shore up the formidable backline.

Brøndby IF

While Brøndby were always a common sight among Denmark’s Top 4, seeing them take the title last season caught many by surprise. Even more impressive was the fact that they led the standings for most of the competition, with Midtjylland barely managing to take over for a few rounds. The final outcome was a close call, but quite conclusive.

To be fair, Brøndby did manage to share the first spot in the 2017/18 season but lost the title in the playoffs. All in all, 2020/21 was the first time someone other than the two usual favourites took home the trophy, which means we’re witnessing a sort of shake-up in Danish football.

This team has had problems with finding a decent striker for the past 5 years or so, but it seems that finally changed last year. Mikael Uhre was Top Goalscorer last year with a solid 13 goals over 22 appearances.

Midfielder Jesper Lindström was 4th on that ladder as well, solidifying the current champions as one of the most offensively gifted squads in the competition. Lindström has since left for Frankfurt, though, which is a tad concerning. Especially because no fitting replacement has yet been found.

Instead, we might see a more defensive style of play this time around, with players like Morten Frendrup and Andreas Maxsö holding the line.

Randers FC

Although they can’t boast strong results in recent memory, Randers may be an unlikely point of interest in the 2021/22 season. The 5th placement from last year was the best we’ve seen them do with 2014, signifying an interesting upward trend. Moreover, top bookmakers online consider them the 4th most likely team to win the proceedings despite more obvious picks like Aarhus.

More importantly, they kicked the season off on a very strong note, leading the standings a few rounds in. Patrik Carlgren is easily one of the standout goalies of the entire Superliga, especially when coupled with defenders like Simon Graves and Mikkel Kallesöe.

Vito Hammershöy-Mistrati, already a powerful presence in the midfield, will further be reinforced by the new arrival Simon Tibbling. Centre-back Joel Kabongo is also a fairly noteworthy fresh transfer. That said, Mathias Greve on the left wing will surely be missed, as Randers’ formation seems to be getting narrower and narrower with each season.

Danish Superliga Relegation Favourites

Depending on the market in which you want to bet on the Danish Superliga, it is also worthwhile to note which teams are most likely to be relegated to the 1st Division.

Silkeborg

Freshly promoted teams are usually first on the chopping block of relegation, and this time is no exception. Moreover, Silkeborg made it to the top flight via a 2nd-place finish, making them relatively worse off than Viborg. Either way, top bookies online are offering a price of 1.72 for this team going straight back to the 2nd flight. Danish Superliga relegation outright betting odds proved to be on-point last season, so we wouldn’t put too much hope in this squad sticking around for long.

Viborg FF

The Greens have a long history in Danish professional football, but they haven’t had a serious run in the top flight since 2007. They’ve been yo-yo-ing in and out of the 1st Division ever since, so it’s quite reasonable to expect the same outcome this year. The bookmakers seem to mostly agree with this sentiment – the price for this team being relegated sits around 2.00, one of the lowest in the league. Viborg seem to be treading the thin line between being lacking a little to be Superliga material but outclassing most 2nd flight squads by a considerable margin. They’ve made some changes over the transfer period, sure, but it’s questionable whether it’s enough.

Danish Superliga Top Players

Great players are what makes great teams, and knowing who to pay attention to is essential for successful Danish Superliga betting. Let’s take a quick look at some of the league’s most distinguished footballers.

Evander

Evander da Silva Ferreira is this young Brazillian player’s full name – although he is mostly referred to simply as Evander. He continues to be Midtjylland’s go-to midfielder for another year, which marks one more season of him being considered one of the league’s most valuable players. Originally a success story for the Wolves’ incredible scouts, Evander is still relatively young and continues to grow and progress along with the rest of his team. The 5 assists over 8 games in last season’s play-offs was a particular highlight.

Mikael Uhre

Although his market value hasn’t really caught up with his results, Uhre has consistently been one of the highest-scoring players in the Superliga for years. It seems he finally came into his own with Brondby’s champion squad, recording 13 goals and 6 assists last season. The club’s unparalleled aggression is what brought them the triumph, and Uhre is the centrepiece in every offensive action.

Danish Superliga Rising Stars

This league has a bit of a reputation for being a great place to kick off a young player’s career. On average, Danish Superliga players are younger than almost all other European leagues. Let’s take a quick look at some standout examples.

Mohammed Daramy

To be frank, we’re still quite surprised Daramy has not yet been picked up by one of the world’s biggest teams. He is often described as a wunderkind and is one of the Danish top-flight’s most valuable players despite his young age. The 2020/21 season was the first year he finally got to see considerable playtime, and he did not disappoint. Though he’s comfortable in any forward position, Daramy is most known as an effective right-winger.

Andreas Schjelderup

Speaking of whizkids, Nordsjaelland striker Andreas Schjelderup is just 17 but has admitted to rejecting offers from teams like Liverpool and Bayern Munich. Last season, he became the youngest goalscorer ever in the Superliga, going on to secure 3 goals over just 7 appearances. That’s quite a debut for a player’s first-ever senior competition. This young Norwegian’s career is obviously just beginning, but he’s definitely one to keep an eye on.

Danish Superliga Derby Matches

Let’s take a look at Denmark’s most fiery rivalries and exciting match-ups. Interestingly, the Danish enjoy referring to their biggest derbies as “Battles”, which just adds to the intensity.

Copenhagen Derby

The name is given to the rivalry between teams traditionally perceived as Denmark’s best and biggest - FC Copenhagen and Brøndby IF. Colloquially, it is sometimes also referred to as The New Classic or The New Firm, after Scotland’s Old Firm. The rivalry has been described as so important that during the match, the whole of Copenhagen is divided into either white or yellow and blue.

Battle of Jutland

This rivalry is between Aalborg BK and Aarhus GF, which happen to be two of the oldest football clubs in Denmark (founded in 1885 and 1880, respectively.) It’s also a manifestation of the rivalry between the cities of Aalborg and Aarhus, which are some of the largest cities in the country and the most important settlements in the Jutland peninsula.

Danish Superliga Best Stadiums

Parken Stadium

Nowadays known as TeliaParken for sponsorship reasons, this stadium is home to F. C. Copenhagen and the Danish national team. Built in 1992, it features a retractable roof and a capacity of around 38,000. It has also been selected as one of the venues for UEFA Euro 2020.

Brøndby Stadium

Brondby IF’s home turf, this stadium boasts a capacity of around 28,000, most of which are seats. It was originally founded in 1965 but was little more than a grass field at that point. As Brondby rose through the ranks as a professional football club, the stadium was slowly expanded to fit their growing needs.