HIFK – HJK : Preview & Prediction
HIFK and Helsinki face at Bolt Arena, in a match for the 12th round of Veikkausliiga. At this stadium, the history of direct clashes is favorable to the visiting team, which has 6 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses in the last 11 matches. Indeed, the last time these teams met at this stadium, on 13‑02‑2021, in a match for the Suomen Cup, HJK won by (2‑1). The goals of the match were scored by J. Ali (37′ ), for HIFK, and by R. Riski (28′ ) and S. Vaananen (90′ ), for Helsinki.
The home team is currently in the 4th position, with 15 points won, after 4 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss. In the penultimate match, they won at home against Honka, by (1‑0). In the last match, they tied in an away match against Lahti, by (0‑0). In the last 4 home matches for the league, HIFK has a record of 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss, having won 7 points out of 12 possible. Their offense has scored consistently, as they have scored goals in 7 of the last 8 matches for this competition. This is a team that often scores first: they opened the scoreboard in 7 of their last 8 matches for Veikkausliiga, of these 7 they reached half-time with an advantage in 4 and managed to maintain the advantage until the end of the 90′ in 4. In the last 18 matches at home in all competitions there are 1 periods that stand out: they have conceded 6 of their 17 goals between minutes (76’‑90′).
The home team comes to this match motivated by having managed to increase the number of matches without defeat to three with a draw in the last round. Helsingfors IFK won two and drew in one of the last three games they played, and it is worth noting that this draw was away from home, in a direct confrontation with Lahti (5th place). With the result, HIFK managed to remain in the 4th position of the table, with 15 points added in 8 matches played: there were 4 wins, 3 draws and only 1 loss, counting 10 goals scored and only 7 conceded. As we can see, this is a very balanced team that should continue fighting in the top half of the table until the last rounds. However, Helsingfors will face, in this round, the current champion and undefeated leader of Veikkausliiga, Helsinki. So, even if they are in a good moment and act as home team, Helsingfors will hardly be able to avoid a defeat in this match.
After 9 wins and 1 draw, the away team is in the 1st position, having won 28 points. In the last match, they won at home against KTP, by (2‑0), after having won at home in a match against Ilves, by (2‑1). Their last away match for this competition ended with a win by (0‑1) against Mariehamn. In the last 5 away league matches Helsinki has a record of 4 wins and 1 draw, so they have won 13 points out of 15 possible.
In this competition, they have a sequence of 4 wins in the last away matches and they haven’t lost any of the last 5 away matches. Their offense has scored consistently, as they have managed to score in 9 of the last 10 matches for this competition. This is a team that often scores first: they opened the scoreboard in 8 of their last 10 matches for Veikkausliiga, of these 8 they reached half-time with an advantage by 3 and managed to keep the advantage until the end of 90’. In the last 18 away matches for all competitions there is 1 period that stands out: they have conceded 3 of their 8 goals between minutes (61’‑75′).
The visiting team comes to this match confident after the current sequence of eight victories, which guarantees the isolated leadership of Veikkausliiga. Helsinki JK, current and greatest champion of Finnish football, could not keep the Finnish Cup title, but can still say they are undefeated in 2021. That’s because the defeat, in the Cup final, came on penalties, after a draw without goals with KuPS in normal time. And it was also KuPS, the only team to take points from Helsinki in this Veikkausliiga, with the tie, also goalless, in the second round. Since then, Helsinki JK won them all consecutively and managed to open a seven-point advantage over the current vice-leader, Inter Turku, and nine in relation to KuPS, 3rd place. HJK is striding in pursuit of Veikkausliiga’s second consecutive title, has impressive numbers (such as the average of more than two goals scored per match) and is evidently favorite to win this match.
HIFK – HJK : Betting Tips
HJK – Win Odds: 1.25
Both teams to score / YES – Odds: 1.70
Over 2.5 Goals – Odds: 1.70
