HIFK - Inter Turku
Prediction: Inter Turku -0.50 Asian Handicap
HIFK come into the upcoming match after 3 consecutive draws against Mariehamn (1:1), KuPS (1:1) and KPV Kokkola (1:1). While HIFK can be happy they haven't lost in the last 3 fixtures, their 1-4-3 record is still far from good. We should touch the most recent match of HIFK against KPV but there is nothing to analyze. The pitch was disastrous, wet and failed to provide normal playing conditions. Still, I was impressed by how well the two sides managed to adapt to the conditions. Other than that, there is nothing more to say about the match. However, we can touch the previous matches of HIFK. What we have learned from HIFK is that they like to attack from wide, which more times than now results in huge holes in their defence. Once HIFK transfers the ball to one wing, it seems like their whole team moves there, which ultimately leaves the other side wide open. This is something the team will need to address going forward, especially against Inter Turku, who are a great offensive team.
Inter Turku come into the next match as league leaders, holding a 5-1-3 record and 16 points. Looking back at their last 5 fixtures. Inter Turku lost against Honka (3:2) but managed to win all the next 4 fixtures against HJK (4:1), Rovaniemi (3:0), Mariehamn (1:2) and most recently KuPS (1:0).
Looking back at Inter performance against KuPS, they failed to impress me. Overall I expected much more from them but had to settle with mediocre performance, mostly in the offensive end. They failed to produce enough promising attempts, and their finishing was just bad. In fact, I would not be surprised if the match would have ended 1:1. Still, this was only one game, and I am confident saying Inter Turku will be able to bounce back quickly and start performing on the highest level once more.
As mentioned, HIFK approaches their games with high pressure, which sometimes works in their favour. But the question remains: will it work in their favour this time out? Considering how well Inter Turku performs against high pressure, I am confident saying HIFK will not have an easy time on May 25th. To be fair I could imagine HIFK getting a few chances to score, but considering how bad their offence is, Inter Turku will have nothing to be afraid of. Inter Turku on the other side come into this match after a disappointing performance against KuPS, but as mentioned, I do not believe this will translate into the upcoming match. Putting the two teams side to side, HIFK are clearly a class below Inter Turku, who should have enough quality and experience in their team to stop the high pressure of HIFK and win. All in all, expect the visiting side to add their 6th win of the season at Telia 5G-Areena.
Rovaniemi - SJK
Prediction: SJK +0.00 Asian Handicap
RoPS come into the upcoming fixture as the 4th team in the league with a 3-1-5 record and 10 points. Looking back at how RoPS performed in the last 5 fixtures, they lost to KuPS (0:1), Inter Turku (3:0) and Ilves (0:1). On the positive note, RoPS won against HIFK (1:0) and most recently VPS (0:1). All in all, solid performances from RoPS, who looked good in the offensive end against Ilves and even better against VPS and while we praise their offence, there is still a lot of work to be done in their defence.
SJK on the other side sit at 4th place in the league with a 3-4-2 record and 13 points. What I find interesting about this team is how they manage to concede goals in the final minutes. Looking at their last 3 fixtures, SJK could've won against HJK, but only managed to walk away with a draw (2:2), because they conceded in 90'+1. The same happened against Lahti, who scored in 90'+3, which resulted in a 1:1 draw for SJK. And in their most recent match against Honka, SJK conceded in the 87th minute, which resulted in a 1:2 defeat.
Their most recent match against Honka was weird as a whole. SJK dominated the match and even scored the opener in the 20th minute. They continued with a solid performance, which prevented Honka from producing any real attempts on the goal. That lasted up until SJK players got tired, which opened a lot of space for Honka to score, which they did. Honka equalized the match in the 60th minute, to which they added the game-winning goal in 87th. Overall, the match was a good effort from SJK turned into a disappointing result.
SJK failed to win once again against Honka due to subpar performance in the 2nd half. While they could've won, the fatigue of players prevented them to hold on to the lead up until the final minute. As for the upcoming match, I am confident saying that playing against RoPS will not be so demanding for SJK players. SJK has a better team overall, and with the questionable performances from RoPS, I'm giving a slight advantage to SJK.