Rosenborg Ride Winning Wave Into Lerkendal Showdown With Struggling Sandefjord
There is a spring in Trondheim’s step. Rosenborg arrive at Lerkendal Stadium on Saturday evening (18:00 kick-off) with the kind of momentum that turns a mid-season wobble into a late-season charge, and Sandefjord are the visitors tasked with trying to halt it.
A Team Reborn
Rosenborg’s season began in shaky fashion, with a long list of Ls dominating the early form guide. But the recent returns tell a different story: five wins in the last six league and cup outings, including a thumping 4-0 over Ham-Kam, a wild 5-3 victory against Tromso, and a 3-1 win at Kristiansund. They even brushed aside Fløya 4-1 in the NM Cupen along the way. Their 10 wins from 21 matches have lifted them firmly into the conversation, and their attack has found its rhythm, with 39 goals scored overall.
Lerkendal Stadium is the engine room of it all. Seven home wins from 11, 27 goals at an average of 2.5 per game, and just two home defeats make this a fortress for Rosenborg. Their habit of striking late, with 27.5% of their goals arriving between the 76th and 90th minutes, should worry any visitor hoping to hang on.
Sandefjord’s Uphill Task
Sandefjord’s season has been a grind. Six wins, five draws and ten defeats from 21 games tell the story of a side that struggles to create, averaging just one goal per match. Their away record is particularly bleak: three wins and seven losses on the road, with 17 goals conceded in ten trips. They have also failed to score in seven games overall.
There are flickers of hope, though. A 3-0 home win over Start on 20 September showed what they can do when things click, and a narrow cup win at Flint kept spirits up. They also pushed Bodo/Glimt to a 3-2 finish before losing. Their defence tends to be most vulnerable late on, conceding nearly 30% of their goals in the final 15 minutes, which plays directly into Rosenborg’s strengths.
History Offers Sandefjord Some Comfort
The head-to-head record is tighter than the form guides suggest. Sandefjord beat Rosenborg 2-0 in July 2025, and the sides have drawn their last two meetings, 1-1 in Trondheim last October and a goalless stalemate in April. Rosenborg’s last win in this fixture came in September 2024. This is a pairing that rarely follows the script.
What to Expect
Expect Rosenborg to line up in their trusted 4-4-2, the shape they have used in 14 of their 21 league games, while Sandefjord are likely to counter with a compact 4-1-4-1 or a defensive 5-4-1 designed to frustrate. Patience will be the key for the hosts, who have been known to score early (22.5% of goals in the opening 15 minutes) but can also be pegged back.
With the home crowd roaring and confidence soaring, Rosenborg are rightly the favourites at Lerkendal Stadium. But Sandefjord have shown they can be awkward opponents, and if they survive the early storm, a tense evening could await.
