HJK vs TPS Preview and Predictions

Aron Wright - July 13, 2018

HJK vs TPS
Finnish Veikkausliiga
Date: Saturday, 14 July 2018
Kick-Off at 17:00 UK / 18:00 CET
Venue: Telia 5G -areena, Helsinki.

The reigning champions seem to be in full control of proceedings in the new Veikkausliiga campaign as they sit seven points clear at the very top of the standings after 18 rounds of the competition. They will have a nice chance to increase the gap ahead of RoPS in second after this weekend given the league newcomers TPS are about to visit the capital on Saturday.

HJK will come into this in high spirits following their Champions League success and the 1-2 victory over Faroese champions Vikingur away from home. The second leg, set to be played on Tuesday, will thus likely only be a formality for the Finnish outfit, meaning we do not expect the head coach Mika Lehkosuo to make some changes in the starting line-up here.

HJK vs TPS: Head-to-head

• The tradition is completely on HJK’s side as the hosts won 26 and lost 13 of 51 matches against TPS.
• It’s been four years since these two last took on each other, before this term’s clash at Paavo Nurmi Stadion.
• Klubi took a narrow 0-1 victory back in mid-May.
• Overall, HJK won five of last six ties against TPS.

HJK vs TPS: Prediction

The gulf in quality between these two outfits should be recognizable on the court as it is really hard to go past a commanding victory for the defending champions here.

TPS have been dreadful travellers for a while now and they will head into this having won just two points in last six league games on the road. Furthermore, the team led by Mika Laurikainen did not score a single goal in last three Veikkausliiga outings away from home.

HJK, on the other side, won six on the bounce in front of the home crowd, each of last four by at least two goals difference.

We expect the hosts to be dominant from the very first whistle and to celebrate a confident clean sheet victory ahead of the reverse fixture in their Champions League tie against Vikingur.

The main bet is HJK to keep a clean sheet at 1.72, while you can alternatively take HJK to win by two or more goals difference at 1.85.

HJK vs TPS: Bet Tips

• HJK to keep a clean sheet @ 1.72
• HJK -1.5 handicap @ 1.85.