KPV Kokkola v HIFK - Finland Veikkausliiga
On May 20th, we will get a chance to see a battle between two of the worst teams in Veikkausliiga, KPV and HIFK, who both sit at the bottom of the leaderboard.
KPV come into the upcoming match as the worst team in Veikkausliiga. They sit at 12th place with a 0-2-5 record, which makes them one of 2 teams that have not yet tasted a victory. Looking back at their performances, KPV lost 3 and drew 2 games. They lost to Mariehamn (0:4), SJK (1:0) and KuPS (3:1), but managed to grab a point from VPS (2:2) and most recently Lahti (0:0). While it may be obvious where the problem in KPV lies, we will point it out. It's their defence. I still can't wrap my head around it where exactly the problem is. Is it the questionable formation, terrible coaching or are the players simply terrible at defending. Either way, the result is the same, there is chaos in KPV defence, which is especially noticeable on their wings.
HIFK on the other side enter the remainder of the season with a new owner, a Chinese businessman, who is expected to bring more capital into the team, which should result in new players in the future. This should spell out a promising future for HIFK, however, the future is not here as of now.
Looking back at HIFK results, they were not too terrible. holding a 1-2-1 record in the last 4, HIFK only lost to Rovaniemi (1:0), but managed to walk away with points on 3 occasions. They defeated Honka (2:0) and drew the last 2 matches against Mariehamn (1:1) and most recently KuPS (1:1).
This will be the first h2h match between the two sides this season, which promises to be an exciting one. Looking at how the two sides performed in their last five h2h fixtures, we saw HIFK winning 3 times, with the remaining two matches eneding in a draw. This time out, I expect the same result. KPV have not convinced me with their poor defence, which leaves me wondering how are they planning to fix it. While it will be a home match for KPV, they were not too convincing at their own stadium either. HIFK on the other side have some potential and while their away record is not too promising, HIFK did have a few more days to rest, which should be enough for them to play at the highest level they are capable of. We believe there is value on HIFK DNB bet, as they face one of the worst teams in the league, who are a complete mess on the pitch.
Prediction: HIFK +0.00 Asian Handicap
Odds: 2.16
Bookmaker: SBOBET (no bet under 2.00)