Bandy: Swedish Eliteserien playoff finals match betting previews & free tips

Free bandy tips, best bets and analysis for Edsbyns v Villa Lidkoping and Vasteras v Skutskars in the Swedish Eliteserien finals.

What is bandy?

Bandy is a team winter sport that combines elements of ice hockey, field hockey and football.

Each team consists of 11 players on skates and the game is played on a frozen surface roughly the size of a football pitch. The goals are the same size as field hockey goals, and all players except the goalkeepers carry a stick for controlling the ball, which is made of rubber and is about the size of a field hockey ball.

Unlike ice hockey, bandy is a non-contact sport.

Matches consist of two 45-minute halves, or three 30-minute thirds in the event of particularly bad weather.

Although developed in England, bandy is primarily a nordic sport. The annual world championship has been dominated by Russia, Sweden, Finland and Kazakhstan. Those four nations have shared the medals every year since 1993.

Best bets

Under 8.5 goals in Edsbyns v Villa Lidkoping
2pts 4-5 Hills
Back this tip with William Hill

Skutskars women to beat Vasteras women
1pt 13-8 bet365
Back this tip with bet365

Where in the world is it and what tier of competition?

The Swedish Eliteserien is the top level of bandy in Sweden.

The league consists of 14 teams who each play 26 matches.

The top six in the regular-season table advance to the playoff quarter-finals, while the teams ranked seventh through tenth playing off for the remaining two places.

The bottom regular-season side are relegated to the Allsvenskan, swapping places with the Allsvenskan champions, while the 12th and 13th-ranked teams are placed in a mini-league with the second- and third-placed Allsvenskan teams.

The top two from that mini-league play in the Eliteserien the following season.

What's happened so far this season?

Men's playoff finalists Edsbyns and Villa Lidkoping have dominated the campaign. They finished the season with 46 and 40 points respectively, while third-placed Sandvikens had 35.

Women's playoff finalists Vasteras and Skutskars also topped the regular-season standings, although Skutskars finished ahead of Villa Lidkoping women only on goal difference.

Are there any trends to follow?

Villa Lidkoping are the defending men's champions. Edsbyns won the league in the previous two seasons.

Vasteras and Skutskars are the two most recent women's champions.

Skutskars claimed the prize last season in a penalty shootout following a 4-4 draw.

Give us a fun fact

Bandy was first played in the 19th century when the marshes and meadows of the East Anglian fens would flood and freeze in winter. Football players of the time often switched to playing bandy to stay match fit.

Match previews

Edsbyns go into the Eliteserien playoff final as top seeds and therefore get home advantage, but there is little to choose between them and opponents Villa Lidkoping.

The pair have met three times this season - twice in the league and also in the Swedish Cup semi-finals - with the away team winning on each occasion.

Two of the last four meetings between the teams have gone to overtime and a cagey encounter seems likely.

Total goals are pitched at 8.5 which looks on the high side.

Two of the last three playoff finals featured only four goals while none of the last four meetings between these sides surpassed the mark.

Four of Edsbyns' last five matches saw no more than eight goals scored, as well as all of Villa Lidkoping's last three.

Skutskars are the only team to have beaten Vasteras in their last 20 Women's Eliteserien matches, and they've done it twice in that span.

Bookmakers anticipate a tight, low-scoring encounter, and they may well be right, but at the prices the away side look worth a small bet to wrestle the league title back from Vasteras.

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