Gabriel Gudmundsson expects a 'fight' when he and his Swedish national team-mates meet fellow Leeds man Tarik Muharemović and Bosnia on Friday night.
Sweden go into the Nations League away fixture at Bilino Polje in Zenica on the back of two wins. Gudmundsson was a substitute in the win over Romania and then started the victory against Poland. Meanwhile Bosnia drew with Poland and beat Romania with Muharemović starting both games and scoring with a header in the latter.
The Leeds pair have discussed their upcoming battle already and hatched a plan to swap shirts. Gudmundsson is looking forward to a Thorp Arch reunion in Bosnia and Herzegovina but expects a stiff test for the Group B4 leaders.
"It'll be nice to see Tarik in Bosnia on Friday," he said. "We've had two good games here before traveling down. And I think Bosnia also had a good start, so it's going to be a tough game. We know that Bosnia is a very stable and decent team, they've shown that from the last games, and in the World Cup. They are difficult to beat, strong, strong players. It's going to be a fight.
"We're traveling down to Bosnia with confidence but also the knowledge that it's going to be a fight, and hopefully we can travel back with a positive result to put us in a good situation going into November. We're looking forward to the challenge."
Friday's game will be a special one for the hosts. Legendary striker Edin Džeko is set to make his last appearance for Bosnia and Herzegovina, nearly 20 years after his debut. The retirement of a man with 151 caps and 73 goals - both record tallies - will inevitably add extra emotion to the fixture. But the Nations League campaign matters for both countries. A place in Group A is a potential prize and qualification for EURO 2028 could also hinge on this Autumn's results.
Once the international hostilities are over - at least until the return fixture in November at Strawberry Arena in Solna - Gudmundsson hopes he will have the changing room bragging rights and a game-worn Muharemović shirt to add to his collection.
"Of course it'll be nice to see Tarik, and hopefully a win over him will be even nicer to have, to chat about that," he said. "But it's fun. We talked about swapping shirts, it'll be something fun."
