Honka – Lahti : Preview & Prediction
Honka and Lahti play at Tapiolan Urheilupuisto in a round 14 match of the Veikkausliiga. In the last meeting between these teams in this competition, on 29-04-2022, Honka won away by (0-2). The history of direct clashes played at this stadium indicates balance between these two teams, as there has been 1 draw and 2 wins for each team in the last 5 matches. In fact, the last time they met at this stadium was on 25-07-2021, in a Veikkausliiga match that ended in a draw (1-1). The goals in the match were scored by O. Koskinen (18′ ) for Honka and C. Geoffrey Chinedu (52′ ) for Lahti. The home/away condition deserves special attention, as although this is a match between 3rd and 11th in the overall standings, this is actually a clash between the 2nd ranked team in home games and the 5th ranked team as visitors.
The home team is currently in 3rd place with 24 points earned after 7 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses. In the penultimate match, it drew at home to Mariehamn by (1-1). In the last match, it lost away to SJK by (3-2). This is a team little affected by the home factor, as they have won similar results at home and away. In the last 6 home league games, Honka records 4 wins and 2 draws, having earned 14 points out of a possible 18.
In this competition, they have not lost any of their last 6 games at their home stadium. Their attack has been scoring with regularity, as they have managed to score in 9 of the last 10 games in this competition. In 13 games in this competition, it has conceded the first goal 5 times but managed to turn the score around in 2. In the last 8 home games in all competitions there is 1 outstanding period: it has scored 5 of its 13 goals between the minutes (0′-15′).
FC Honka arrives for this home match with the expectation of returning to wins in the competition, in the last match they lost against SJK 3-2 away from home, keeping themselves in third place, with one game less than the leader, who has 9 points more in this Veikkausliiga. At home, Honka have a great campaign, with 4 wins and 2 draws in 6 matches. Now they need to keep up this good recent form, to get a win and continue the search for the first place. Honka stands out mainly for its offensive sector, with an average of almost two goals scored per match, but is, in all sectors, a very well-balanced team, with the second best defense of the competition. Therefore, now facing the second-to-last placed team, Honka is considered as favorites to win.
The visiting team is currently in 11th place with 12 points, after 3 wins, 3 draws and 8 losses. In the penultimate match, they won at home against Inter Turku by (2-1). In the last match, they lost away to KuPS by (4-0). This is a team that usually gets more positive results as a visitor than at home, as they won 8 points away and 4 at their stadium, with 3 goals scored and 12 goals conceded at home, against 11 goals scored and 17 conceded as a visitor. In the league, Lahti has won 8 points out of a possible 24, after 2 wins, 2 draws and 4 losses in the last 8 games they played as visitors.
For this competition, they have not won any of their last 5 away games. In the away matches played in the league, the most frequent result at the end of the first 45′ has been 0-0, which has occurred in 3 of their 6 matches. Defensive solidity has not been their strong point, as they have conceded at least one goal in each of their last 10 games, but their attack has been scoring with regularity, as they have scored goals in 7 of their last 10 games for this competition. In 14 games in this competition, it has conceded the first goal 9 times and has only managed 1 turnover on the scoreboard.
FC Lahti comes to this round of the Veikkausliiga discouraged with another away defeat, this time against KuPS, leader of the competition, by 4-0, reaching the mark of 8 defeats in 14 games in this championship. This team has only 3 wins in 14 games in the competition, and curiously, two of them were away from home. In all, Lahti has 3 wins, 3 draws and 8 losses, so it occupies the 11th position (of 12) in the table with 12 points, 6 above the bottom of the competition, which falls straight to the access division. Now, Lahti makes a confrontation against Honka (3rd place), to try to breathe and dream of leaving the danger zone of the Veikkausliiga and jump to the top half of the standings, but this task will be difficult, since the team has the worst defense of the competition, with 29 goals conceded in the 14 games played, an average of more than 2 goals conceded per match.
Honka – Lahti : Betting Tips
Honka – Win Odds: 1.35
