FF Jaro (10th) - VPS (8th) Vaasa 6.8.09 preview

Jaro:1-0-0-1-0-1 VPS: 0-1-0-3-0-3

H2H: 5-5-10

Last game 13.5.2009 VPS-Jaro 1-2

Jaro is having a bad spell and last time they won a game was 14.6 at home against RoPS. After that is has been more quiet in Pietarsaari. One of the reasons has been the announcement of the current manager Mika Laurikainen that he is leaving the club after this season. Another one is the narrow roster of FF Jaro and they are really suffering when injuries occur. What has been unmentioned is that they have also had the toughest possible matches lately against top teams and also been slightly unlucky. Jaro is still a decent team with good results at home, and the poor run of results lately means nothing in a derby game like this one against VPS Vaasa.

Jaro´s new signing from Germany Tillman Grove 1/0 managed to get two yellow cards in his first game and is suspended, but the good news for Jaro is that Jens Portin 16/0 returns from suspension. Janne Vellamo has also recoverd from fever which kept him out last at last week´s 2-2 at KuPS.

The trend of VPS was completely different from Jaro but the results have been more unstable lately. They won 1-0 last week against FC Lahti who fielded mostly second-best players due to their Europe League match, but on their last trip Honka gave them no mercy at VPS was defeated by 3-0.

VPS injury list of the key players consists only of Jyrki Saranpää 14/1 and Toni Hahto 12/0, otherwise the team is healty and ready to challenge their dear neighbours at Pietarsaari.

Jaro: 1 Markus Koljander 14/0 – 6 Janne Vellamo 15/0 - 5 Kristian Kojola 17/2 – 2 Jani Tanska 17/1 - 10 Jonas Emet 17/3 – 16 Papa Niang 16/2 – 17 Petter Meyer 16/2 - 18 Mikko Hyyrynen 15/3 – 19 Sebastian Mannström 17/4 – 22 Jens Portin 16/0 – 23 Joonas Laurikainen 17/3

Bench: 30 Jesse Öst 0/0, 11 Jani Koivisto 681, 13 Jani Sarajärvi 3/0, 26 Tommi Haanpää 2/0, 12 Vitali Teles (gk) 2/0, 3 Heikki Aho 8/0, 9 Björn-Erik Sundqvist 5/1

Unavailable: 8 Jari Sara 0/0, 21 Daniel Fellman 8/0, 7 Marco Matrone 14/1, 20 Tillman Grove 1/0

Coach : Mika Laurikainen

VPS: 1 Henri Sillanpää 13/0 - 8 Jani Lyyski 17/2 – 4 Jussi Äijälä 12/0– 19 Jan Berg 17/0 – 3 Lawrence Smith 13/2 – 7 Tero Koskela 15/1 – 14 Jens Nygård 17/3 - 22 Tony Björk 17/1 - 10 Antonio Inutile 16/3 – 23 Jyri Hietaharju 16/1- 20 Rikard Lindroos 12/1

Bench: 9 Jussi Aalto 10/1, 25 Pekka Kainu 12/0, 12 Henrik Moisander (gk) 6/0, 6 Petteri Forsell 9/1

Unavailable: 2 Jan Ahlvik 0/0 & 24 Benjamin Slotte 0/0, 16 Jyrki Saranpää 14/1, 17 Juho Alasuutari 4/0 left the team and returned to YPA at Kakkonen, 11 Toni Hahto 12/0

Coaches: Juha Reini & Petri Vuorinen

Bettinwise this is a tough nut. VPS was offered too big odds in the earlies - well, the markets reacted that way but personally I am not that sure - and is now seen as a -0,25 underdog.

The name of the game is that Jaro will wait and bite their time for counter attacks, if there will be any as VPS is hardly the most creative of teams... and both might settle for a draw. Unless it was not with this derby thing, stats show a lot of goals in this fixture. I will keep out of this unless there are dramatic market movements.