HJK Helsinki vs Motherwell Predictions
HJK Helsinki and Motherwell meet at Bolt Arena in the first leg of their Conference League third qualifying-round tie.
Both sides have made impressive starts to the season and an entertaining contest seems likely in Finland.
BTTS and over 2.5 goals look like solid selections on Thursday
Goals Tipped in Helsinki
- HJK Helsinki have seen over 2.5 goals in 14 of their last 17 matches
- Motherwell have seen over 2.5 goals in 5 of their last 7 matches
- Motherwell have seen BTTS in 8 of their last 13 matches
HJK and Motherwell Set For First Competitive Meeting
HJK Helsinki and Motherwell will meet for the first time on Thursday.
HJK Suffer Domestic Slip-Up
HJK turn their attention to Conference League qualification after a disastrous 3-0 defeat against SJK on Sunday.
Kelwin Souza opened the scoring in the 56th minute before Jeremiah Streng and Murilo completed a blistering ten-minute salvo at OmaSP Stadion.
Joonas Rantanen’s side had recorded four successive wins before Sunday’s surprise reversal.
The Finnish outfit cruised into the third qualifying round of the Conference League qualifiers with an 8-0 aggregate victory against Coleraine.
HJK claimed a 5-0 first-leg win in Helsinki before completing the job with a comfortable 3-0 victory in Northern Ireland.
The Finns have been a reliable choice for goal chasers in recent months. Three goals or more were scored in 14 of their last 17 fixtures. BTTS landed in eight of those games.
Competing in European competition for a sixth successive season, HJK have a solid record in home continental games. Rantanen’s side are unbeaten in nine of their last ten European matches at Bolt Arena, including a 2-2 draw against Aberdeen three years ago.
Motherwell Maintain Perfect Start
Motherwell travel to Helsinki after beginning Alfred Johansson’s reign with three successive competitive victories.
The newly appointed boss guided the Steelmen to a 2-1 win against Hibernian in their Premiership opener last weekend. Lukas Fadinger opened the scoring before Ibrahim Said struck a late winner at Easter Road.
Maintaining the standards set by predecessor Jens Berthel Askou, the Well impressed at Easter Road. The Lanarkshire side finished with more possession (52% to 48%) and posted a higher xG total (2.19 to 1.94).
Johansson had already overseen a pair of Conference League victories following a difficult pre-season schedule. Motherwell secured their place in the third qualifying round with a 5-0 aggregate victory against HB Torshavn.
The in-form Scottish side scored at least two goals in their last four games, including a 4-3 pre-season defeat against Belgian side Genk.
HJK Helsinki vs Motherwell Team News
HJK Helsinki: (4-3-3) Matej Markovic; Kaius Simojoki, Ville Tikkanen, Amara Nallo, Leonel Montano; Pyry Mentu, Alexander Ring, Lucas Lingman; Liam Moller, Teemu Pukki, Toivo Mero.
Rantanen is likely to revert to much of the same XI that started last week’s victory against Coleraine.
Experienced striker Teemu Pukki is expected to come back into the side after a second-half substitute appearance against SJK.
Motherwell: (4-3-3) Alex Paulsen; Tom Sparrow, Jake Girdwood-Reich, Martin Moormann, Ewan Wilson; Dylan Williams, Lukas Fadinger, Oscar Priestman; Willy Vogt, Tawanda Maswanhise, Ibrahim Said.
Head coach Johansson could make one or two changes to the side that started Sunday’s victory against Hibernian.
Last season’s top scorer Tawanda Maswanhise is pushing for his first start of the campaign after returning from injury.
Apostolos Stamatelopoulos remains unavailable with a calf problem, while Paul McGinn and Stephen O’Donnell are also sidelined.
Johansson expressed his delight after securing victory in his first Premiership match as Motherwell boss.
“It was a game of ups and downs for both teams, and obviously I’m really pleased to come out with the three points,” Johansson told the BBC.
“In the first half we showed some good stuff on the ball, but more than tactics, we have to praise the spirit of the team because at times we had to ride out storms.”