Honka – Mariehamn : Preview & Prediction
the 12th round of the Veikkausliiga. The two teams drew (1-1) on 18-04-2022 the last time they met in this edition of the league. The history of direct confrontations played in this stadium favors the home team, which in the last 8 matches won 4, drew 2 and lost 2. However, in the last meeting in this stadium, in the Veikkausliiga, on 02-10-2021, the match ended in a draw (1-1). The goals of the match were scored by M. Sumusalo (81′ Own goal) for Honka and by J. Mattsson (2′ ) for Mariehamn.
The home team is currently in 3rd place with 20 points earned after 7 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses. In the penultimate match, they won at home to KuPS by (2-0). In the last match, they won away to VPS by (0-1).
In this competition, they haven’t lost in their stadium in 5 matches. Their attack has been scoring with regularity, as they have scored goals in 9 of the last 10 games in this competition. In 11 games in this competition, it has managed to turn the score around in 2 of the 5 games in which it conceded the first goal.
FC Honka arrive for this home match hoping to get their fourth straight win in the competition, in their last match they beat VPS 0-1 away from home, moving even closer to the lead, with a game in hand Honka have 6 points less than the current leader of the Veikkausliiga. At home, Honka have a great campaign, with 4 wins and 1 draw in 5 away matches. Now they need to keep up this good recent form in order to get a win and continue their quest for the top spot. Honka stands out mainly due to 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. So now facing the second-to-last placed team, Honka are favored to win.
After 2 wins, 4 draws and 5 losses, the visiting team is in 11th position, having gained 7 points. In their last match they beat HJK at home by (2-1), after in the previous match they lost away in a match against Haka by (3-2). In the last 5 away league games Mariehamn records 1 draw and 4 defeats, taking 1 point from a possible 15.
In this competition, it has lost its last 4 games as a visitor and has not won any of the last 5 it has played as a visitor. The team has not been very strong defensively, as they have always conceded goals in their last 10 games, but their attack has been scoring with regularity, as they have managed to score in 7 of their last 10 games in this competition. In 11 games in this competition, they have conceded the first goal 6 times and have only managed 1 turnover on the scoreboard.
IFK Mariehamn arrives for this away match excited with the victory in the last round of the competition, against the second-placed HJK, 2-1 at home. It was their first win after 6 matches, they have the second worst attack of the competition with 10 goals scored in 11 games, and an insecure defense that conceded 17 goals. This team is one of the oldest and most traditional in Finland, being one of the teams that has lifted the league trophy the most times: 8 times (the last one in 2016). Last year, however, IFK Mariehamn finished the Veikkausliiga very close to the relegation zone (only 7 points separated them from AC Oulu, who were in penultimate place and had to play in the competition’s play-off against the runner-up from the Second Division). The poor campaign last year makes evident the problems Mariehamn is facing and justifies the performance still below expectations in the current season. Despite having good virtues and having managed to remain undefeated in the first four matches of this Veikkausliiga (with 3 draws and only 1 win, at home), Mariehamn lost momentum in the following rounds and did not win again in the competition, so they will find it very difficult to play away from home, taking into account that they have the worst away campaign of the competition, with 1 draw and 4 losses in 5 games.
Honka – Mariehamn : Betting Tips
OVER 2.5 GOALS Odds: 2.25
