The start of the league’s second century should feel like the beginning of a new era, but the question on many people’s lips before the first whistle is a very familiar one - who can stop reigning and record champions Malmo from taking another title?
The Himmelsblatt will be in focus for the league’s curtain raiser, a blockbuster clash away to Djurgarden at 15:00 local time on Saturday, kicking-off 30 rounds of action which concludes once the long nights return in late-October.
To see what could be in store between now and then, here is the Flashscore 2025 Allsvenksan season preview.
Malmo’s to lose once more?
They say good things come in threes, but try telling that to Malmo fans. The record 27-time champions have won eight of the last 12 Allsvenskan titles, all of which have come in pairs, including the 2023 and 2024 campaigns.
In the latter, they took pole position after matchday one and never relinquished it, winning the title by 11 points in a ride that was far smoother than 2023’s win on goal difference, having gone top on the final day.
If the Svenska Cupen - which they are also holders of - is anything to go by, their latest attempt to win three successive titles for the first time since the late-1980s is building nicely.
After strolling past three lower league teams in the Group Stage, they knocked out Elfsborg in the Quarter-Finals and IFK Goteborg in the Semi-Finals to reach May’s Final, albeit they needed extra time in both.
Elimination in the League Phase of the UEFA Europa League (UEL) was arguably a blessing in disguise for Henrik Rydstrom’s side, who could enjoy a winter break and have a proper preseason.
In which, they brought in left-wingers Emmanuel Ekong from Empoli for €1 million and Arnor Sigurdsson on a free from Blackburn Rovers, as they look to replace the creativity of Sebastian Nanasi, the league’s top assist provider in 2024 despite leaving for Strasbourg in August.
Perhaps their most significant January business was keeping hold of last season’s club top scorer Isaac Kiese Thelin, who has already bagged three in the Cupen knockout stage.
If he can take that form into the league, be provided for and Malmo can overcome the mental hurdle of a third title in a row, then the Sky Blues will be the ones to catch again.
The title challengers
The best of the rest last season were Hammarby, whose runners-up spot was a significant improvement on seventh in 2023.
Fluctuating between the European places and mid-table has been the norm for the Bajen in recent years and that trend could continue after last year’s breakout star Bazoumana Toure was sold to Hoffenheim for €10 million.
The club part-owned by Zlatan Ibrahimovic spent €1.2 million of that on Tunisia international Sebastian Tounekti to replace the Ivorian, but a lack of strengthening, plus European football in the summer could derail a potential title challenge.
Hammarby finished above fellow Stockholm side AIK on goal difference last term, and the Gnaget have been active over the winter in their pursuit of going at least one better this time.
2024 top scorer Ioannis Pittas is one of 10 departures, while nine new men have come in, including Croatian international centre-back Filip Benkovic and Norwegian midfielder Johan Hove.
The spine of Mikkjal Thomassen’s team has improved, but the question of where the goals will come from remains.
A team who should be coming into this season full of confidence are Djurgarden, who earlier this month became the first Swedish club in 30 years to reach the Quarter-Finals of a European competition.
Having played well into December and remaining focused on the UEFA Europa Conference League until at least mid-April, it would not be surprising if The Iron Stoves made a slow start in the Allsvenskan, and they may not have the legs to finish strongly in the autumn.
That could scupper hopes of finishing as high as fourth again, let alone make a title challenge.
However, to counter that, they have spent in the transfer market, bringing in striker Zakaria Sawo for €1.4 million - the biggest spend in the league this winter - from Aris Limassol, plus highly-rated 17-year-old Matias Siltanen from Finnish side KuPS for €1.2 million.
Another side who impressed in Europe in the autumn were Elfsborg, picking up 10 points in the UEL League Phase despite finishing seventh in the Allsvenskan.
Buoyed from that campaign and no continental distractions in the spring should help them get off to a better start this time and get back to challenging Malmo, who they lost the title to on the final day in 2023.
Stars of their UEL run Michael Baidoo and Timothy Ouma were pinched this winter, though Simon Olsson has arrived to bring real solidity to the midfield.
Bouncing back and second season syndrome
The three Gothenburg clubs may have dreams of European football in 2026, but the aim for this year is to either return to or stay in the top half.
GAIS were the real surprise package last year, finishing sixth in their first year back in the Allsvenskan since 2012. But not many additions to Fredrik Holmberg’s squad means a case of second season syndrome could be on the cards for The Mackerels.
Gothenburg’s Cupen specialists BK Hacken reached a fifth final in a decade earlier this month. Their run to the final wasn’t the toughest, but it should give them confidence going into the league season.
The 2022 champions have been on a downward spiral since then, finishing eighth last year, but the arrivals of defenders Leo Vaisanen and Brice Wembangomo should sure up a defence that was far leakier than those of the sides above them in 2024.
Nine years on from their last top-four finish, Goteborg are out to at least prove they are still one of the Big Three in Sweden, not just in their city. But they will need to do better than the 13th place they have finished in for two seasons. In 2024, they only finished above the relegation playoff on goals scored.
New arrivals at Gamla Ullevi have been minimal, but such is their status they can still attract the likes of Imam Jagne, a key man for Mjallby last season.
That was the same Mjallby who finished fifth last time, their highest position since 2020. They have also sold Rasmus Wikstrom to another direct rival, Elfsborg. The Hallevik club have recruited from around Scandinavia, but many new acquisitions are untested in the Swedish top flight.
Brommapojkarna were closer to relegation last season than they were to the top half, but the club building its reputation as a talent factory appears to be continuing its upward trajectory.
Crucially, BP have managed to keep hold of the 2024 Allsvenskan top scorer, Nikola Vasic. A repeat of his 17 goals last term will be welcome, though it is only a matter of time before another new star emerges, following in the footsteps of academy graduates Viktor Gyokeres, Dejan Kulusevski and Lucas Bergvall.
Despite being from Uppsala, just north of Stockholm, Sirius are the most northern club in the league.
Though they may be looking down on their opponents geographically, it looks to be another season of mid-table mediocrity for the Blasvart, who sold top scorer Yousef Salach but have brought in Anderlecht’s Scottish academy product, Robbie Ure.
The survival battle
Degerfors’ three-year stint in the top flight came to an end in 2023, but they bounced back in fine style, winning the Superettan at the first attempt.
The 2024 season was the first in charge of a second-tier side for 32-year-old head coach William Lundin, who cut his teeth in the lower leagues before working as an assistant and then caretaker at Goteborg.
He will have to improve on his Allsvenskan record of one win in 11 as IFK caretaker. That one win? A 6-0 thrashing of Degerfors.
Returning to the top flight after 11 years in the wilderness are one of the former giants of Swedish football, Oster, the four-time Allsvenskan champions from Vaxjo.
They have not spent a krona on new arrivals, relying heavily on free transfers, including on Daniel Ask from Aalborg and Matias Tamminen from Inter Turku. Their survival might depend on their shrewdness in the transfer market.
Varnamo had a severe drop off in 2024, surviving via the relegation playoff having finished fifth in 2023. They will be in the sights of the newly-promoted sides.
Only last-placed Vasteras scored fewer than Varnamo last season and no new attacking arrivals in the winter is a real cause for concern.
On the flipside, a leaky defence was the main reason Norrkoping finished just three points clear of the playoff, but they too have not addressed their main issue in the transfer market.
The major change comes in the dugout as Martin Falk takes the reins this season. He will need to instill some solidity at the back if the Comrades are to have a calmer campaign in 2025.
Finally, Halmstads have had consecutive 12th-placed finishes since returning to the Allsvenskan and it could be more of the same for the club who won two titles under Roy Hodgson in the 1970s.
Speaking of managers, they also have a new permanent one in Johan Lindholm, who was appointed at the end of the season having already been in charge on a caretaker basis. That interim spell was far from inspirational, and now he must prove that 12th is not Halmstads ceiling.
Round One
A reminder that the 2025 Allsvenkan season begins tomorrow (Saturday 29th). Here are all the fixtures for the opening round of matches:
Saturday: Djurgarden vs Malmo, Hacken vs Brommapojkarna
Sunday: Elfsborg vs Majallby, Hammarby vs Goteborg, Halmstad vs Degerfors, Norrkoping vs Oster
Monday: Varnamo vs Sirius, GAIS vs AIK