Last year, Häcken was eliminated from the Champions League in the quarterfinals against Paris Saint-Germain, after finishing second in the group stage.
At the same time, it's not the same squad as then, admits coach Mak Lind ahead of Wednesday's home match against top team Arsenal.
During the spring, Elin Rubensson left for Houston Dash and this summer, for example, Anna Sandberg left for Manchester United and Rosa Kafaji for Arsenal.
Instead, Häcken has brought in, among others, Paulina Nyström, who comes from Juventus.
I think we're getting more and more cohesive, says Mak Lind.
It's quite natural that you need time to build relationships. But I think we're as far ahead as we can be.
The major player turnover means that there will be some Champions League debutants in Häcken's starting eleven against Arsenal.
Missed Penalty
Paulina Nyström is not one of them, though. Even if she doesn't like to remember her last match in the club team tournament, where Juventus fell in a penalty drama against Frankfurt after she herself missed the last penalty.
Football can be bloody sad sometimes. But you learn from it too, and that experience you can also take with you, says the 24-year-old.
When Häcken bought her out from Juventus this summer, it was to "flex their muscles for the autumn", as Christian Lundström, football manager for women's elite, put it.
Mak usually uses the word "powerforward", that I'm a very powerful player. I agree with that, says Paulina Nyström.
I'm strong and shoot well with both my right and left foot.
It may be needed on Wednesday evening.
Swedish National Team Stars
Arsenal, which finished third in the English Super League last year, has not started the league season yet, but has played well during the preseason.
Besides Swedish head coach Jonas Eidevall, there are four Swedish national team stars in the squad – Stina Blackstenius, Lina Hurtig, Amanda Ilestedt, and Rosa Kafaji.
Paulina Nyström hopes that Häcken's routine will give them a small advantage over the London team, which fell in the qualifying round last year.
Yes, it was a bit shaky for them last year. So I hope we can shake them a bit more, she says.
But it's clear that we must be focused. Because if we start slacking off, they'll punish us.
