HJK - VPS preview

HJK (1st) – VPS (9th)

HJK: 1-1-1-1-3-3
VPS: 0-3-3-0-3-0
H2H:16-3-1!
Last game in Veikkausliiga: 1.7.09 VPS – HJK 3-4

The head to head statistics tell almost all of this; VPS have won once out of 20 games and even that was at home, they have never won in Helsinki. At this point they have nothing to play for anymore this season as there is no danger of relegation and no chance of the top spots, they are also out of the Cup having lost at home to a second division team Jazz. Last week in the league they lost at home to MYPA 0-2.

HJK are leading the table by a goal-difference to TPS and only a victory is enough for the team and the fans, and HJK is that big club in Finland that they always aim for gold. Last week they won RoPS at home, but it was far as comfortable as the score 4-0 suggests, and they got the match killed not until the RoPS gk was sent out in the last minutes of the game.

The good news for HJK is that there are no more injury worries and the only absentee is long-term patient Tuomas Haapala, also the transfer of Jukka Raitala to TSG Hoffenheim was replaced by the signing of Mathias Lindström from TamU, though he does not exatly play the same position in the defence.

The game is televised at 16.00 CET.

HJK: 1 Wille Wallén 21/0 – 3 Mikko Hauhia 20/0 – 4 Medo 18/3 – 19 Aki Riihilahti 5/2 – 6 Cheyne Fowler 12/1 – 9 Sebastian Sorsa 21/5 – 10 Juho Mäkelä 21/6 - 13 Pyry Kärkkäinen 21/2 – 14 Valeri Popovits 16/3 – 17 Dawda Bah 20/5 – 11 Mathias Lindström 21/1

Bench: 2 Tuomas Kansikas 6/0, 12 Jani Viander (gk) 0/0, 21 Petri Oravainen 13/0, 26 Johannes Westö 2/0, 27 Mikko Sumusalo 1/0, 31 Akseli Pelvas 16/5, 16 Jarno Parikka 20/3, 8 Ville Taulo 8/0, 15 Paulus Roiha 3/0, 5 Jukka Sauso 18/0

Unavailable: 7 Tuomas Haapala 6/0
Coach : Antti Muurinen

VPS: 1 Henri Sillanpää 17/0 - 8 Jani Lyyski 21/3 – 4 Jussi Äijälä 16/0 – 19 Jan Berg 21/0 – 3 Lawrence Smith 17/3 – 7 Tero Koskela 19/1 – 14 Jens Nygård 21/3 - 22 Tony Björk 21/2 - 10 Antonio Inutile 20/4 – 23 Jyri Hietaharju 20/1 - 20 Rikard Lindroos 14/2

Bench: 9 Jussi Aalto 14/1, 25 Pekka Kainu 16/0, 12 Henrik Moisander (gk) 6/0, 21 Arttu Seppälä 2/1,16 Jyrki Saranpää 14/1, 11 Toni Hahto 12/0

Unavailable: 2 Jan Ahlvik 0/0 & 24 Benjamin Slotte 0/0

Coaches: Juha Reini & Petri Vuorinen

Betting: A home win. More info perhaps on the match day. The only setback for HJK is that they are going to play Kansikas as a left back and I would personally go past him. Update: No bet. Easy win to be expected, but I just do not trust HJK to win by a margin, which they surely are capable of. They have lost points against lesser teams at home this season, JJK.