HJK Helsinki vs Inter Turku
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Today’s secondary featured game is the Veikkausliiga encounter between giants HJK Helsinki and Inter Turku. The gap’s been steadily increasing between HJK and the chasing pack for some years now and this year it appears to be more evident than ever.
HJK last season were ran a little closer than they’d have liked by Honka and decided to add to the squad pre-season to bolster their ranks. They signed attacking midfielder Yobe, Honka captain Hakanpaa, midfield propsect Ring, and Lahti hitman Sadik. However, Yobe was dismissed following his involvement in the match fixing scandal and following Westo’s decision to not continue playing football this season, a few question marks were being raised about HJK’s creativity and overall attacking ability. After all, Ring has a good shot from distance and Sadik is a good hitman but they’re not players that are what I’d call “match-winners”. So what did HJK do? They went and signed arguably the best Finnish player of all time – Jari Litmanen. He’s forty now but he still dominates this league with some ease and for an example of that, check this goal that he scored for Lahti last season.
So yeah – HJK are as good as ever this season and I’ll be astounded if they don’t win the Veikkausliiga again this year. They’ve got so much depth in all areas of their team that it’s not even funny. They’ve got terrific wingers in the likes of Bah, Sorsa, and Zeneli and with big Sadik and pacey Parikka in attack, HJK have a strong attack at almost any given time. HJK were poor in their opening game at TPS Turku, deservedly losing 2-0. However, they bounced back with a 4-1 win against KuPS Kuopio last match and although I felt the result flattered them due to them capitalising on poor goalkeeper positioning from Pontinen and poor defending in general. However, they did capitalise on poor goalkeeping by keeping the KuPS goal under threat most of the game and they deserved their win as a result, in my eyes.
Inter Turku have to somehow find a way of dealing with their old adversaries today and I’m not entirely sure how they’ll do it. If HJK’s result against KuPS flattered HJK then Inter’s 4-0 win against Honka definitely flattered them as they took four chances without having created many more than that despite facing ten men for the vast majority of the game following a clumsy barge from Aalto in the first minute. Inter Turku then capitalised on terrible Honka defending to score goal after goal with even injury-ravaged hitman Furuholm getting his name on the scoresheet despite not looking fully fit at the moment. Indeed, Honka were in the game a lot more than was indicated by the scoreline and that should be something distinctly more visible today. I won’t lie here; Inter Turku have impressed me with their efficiency so far this season and with old hand Dragtsma in charge, it’s no surprise that they’re doing so well – the Dutch tactician is one of the best managers in Finland right now. Inter Turku do have some good players in their ranks and they keep the ball worryingly well but their biggest flaw is scoring goals and against a vibrant and superior HJK side today, I fear for them. They were destroyed by HJK in the Liiga Cup when they tried to play their possession game and if that fails then Inter generally don’t have a “Plan B” so why should that change today?
Odds of 3/4 aren’t ideal on HJK at home to one of their big rivals but there’s such a big quality difference that I can’t help but take a nibble of the home win here. I’d leave it if the odds drop but HJK should have too much for their opponents today.
Verdict: HJK Helsinki to win at 3/4.
Thursday’s Picks
My tips:
As ever, below are my recommended value tips for today in no particular order:
MyPa Anjalankoski vs FC Honka Espoo – away win at 27/25.
As I mentioned in the above preview, I feel the result in Turku was harsh on Honka, who continued to attack well despite having only ten men on the field. However, the question does have to be asked – how have they gone two games without scoring a goal? They play relentless attacking football because they cannot defend for love nor money and yet they’ve not scored in two games. I mean, in all fairness, JJK’s goalkeeper Korhonen was arguably man of the match against Honka in Espoo and Honka did only have ten men last match but still – this side specialises in scoring goals and they’re not doing so! If they had TPS Turku or KuPS Kuopio today then I’d fear for Honka but fortunately, they’re facing a poor MyPa side and should bounce back.
MyPa aren’t just losing games; they’re not creating chances. That’s a huge problem, as I’m sure you’ll all agree. They played IFK Mariehamn at home in their opening Veikkausliiga game and created next to nothing, deservedly losing 0-2. They followed that game up with a disappointing display in Jyvaskyla, being dominated throughout the game, again creating nothing, and eventually losing just 1-0 when it could have been 3-0 or 4-0 had JJK been in-form. I mean, it’s partially understandable as MyPa only really have Innanen in attack of any substantial quality but MyPa’s big problem is that they’re only strong in midfield with old hand Okkonen alongside emerging midfielder Saxman. MyPa are simply a poor side and I can’t help but oppose a side so bereft of talent in many areas when they lack spirit, cohesion, and creativity.
I don’t expect a classic here due to the games that both sides have played thus far but the only side likely to score here is Honka because that’s what they do!
Verdict: FC Honka Espoo to win at 27/25.
TPS Turku vs Jaro Pietarsaari – home win at 4/5.
I’d leave this one if the odds drop but for now, the home win at 4/5 appeals to me.
TPS Turku are a bit hit-and-miss currently as they struggle to integrate all of their new players following their many departures pre-season. They were set for a bleak campaign with Jonatan Johansson hanging up his boots and lots of players leaving – the Riski brothers, Wusu, Cleaver, Jovanovic, Manninen etc. However, they’ve been quite clever lately with their signings, bringing in ex-Udinese right-back Hurme, ex-CSKA Moscow striker Shumilin, Dutch attacker Dadda from VVV Venlo, Finnish midfield prospect Pennanen from Twente Enschede, and strike duo Tarvajarvi and Kuqi from Neuchatel Xamax and Dundee respectively. There’s a lot of good players there and they should benefit TPS Turku long-term although which TPS turns up today remains to be seen. They dominated HJK at home in their opening Veikkausliiga game but were poor in Vaasa at weekend, losing 2-1 at VPS in a game that barely merited one goal, let alone three. Nonetheless, looking at the quality in TPS’ team, you have to fancy them to win this one.
It aids my cause that Jaro have started the season terribly. As I mentioned in the weekend preview, Jaro look lost in central midfield now that Eremenko, Novikov, and Matrone have all left. For me, Jaro still have good strikers in Niang and especially ex-Metalurg Donetsk striker Zeze. However, what use are they with no service? That question has been answered with one goal scored in two Veikkausliiga games despite Jaro having faced arguably the worst two sides in the division. Inexplicably, Jaro have lost at home to Haka Valkeakoski and at RoPS Rovaniemi, the latter of which is more acceptable but is still somewhat surprising giving how well Eremenko Snr’s team played last season. Agyeman is a good player but should he be carrying the team in his first season? No, of course not. Jaro aren’t creating enough chances at the moment and that’s a dangerous game to play against sides like TPS Turku, who are simply better than they are. Jaro do have good strikers, as I’ve mentioned, so when they do almost inevitably re-sign the son of their manager on loan when the Scottish Premier League ends, they should become a force again. For the present time, however, they look utterly bereft of ideas.
Therefore, I have to favour a gelling but talented TPS side against a Jaro side bereft of ideas. The odds are decent at 4/5 but as I said earlier – leave them if they drop as a TPS side without 100% cohesion isn’t worth less than 4/5 to me.
Verdict: TPS Turku to win at 4/5.
Accumulator fodder:
Velez Sarsfield.
Recommended bets:
Velez Sarsfield and HJK Helsinki at over evens.
As ever, if there are any explanations required then please feel free to post a comment! For the remainder of my thoughts on today’s games, see below, although I feel compelled to write that the below are not necessarily my tips but merely my thoughts to prevent endless questions about my thoughts on certain games!
Copa Libertadores:
Velez Sarsfield vs Libertad Asuncion (8) 2-0
Jaguares vs Cerro Porteno (6) 2-1
Colombian Primera A:
Independiente de Santa Fe Bogota vs Deportivo Cali (6) 1-0
Cucuta Deportivo vs Once Caldas Manizales (5) 2-1
English Championship:
Nottingham Forest vs Swansea City (6) 2-1
Faroese Meistaradeildin:
NSI Runavik v IF Fuglafjordur (7) 2-1
Finnish Veikkausliiga:
KuPS Kuopio vs VPS Vaasa (7) 2-0
HJK Helsinki vs Inter Turku (7) 2-1
MyPa Anjalankoski vs FC Honka Espoo (6) 1-2
RoPS Rovaniemi vs JJK Jyvaskyla (6) 0-1
TPS Turku vs Jaro Pietarsaari (7) 1-0
Greek Super League:
Olympiakos Volos vs PAOK Salonika (5) 0-0
Panathinaikos vs AEK Athens (7) 2-1, at least one red card in this game
Mexican Primera Division:
Guadalajara vs Pumas UNAM (6) 2-1
Cruz Azul vs Morelia (7) 2-0
Singaporean S-League:
Gombak United vs Home United (6) 1-1
Spanish Segunda Liga:
Villarreal II vs Alcorcon (4)
Granada vs Huesca (5)
Girona vs Deportivo Xerez (6)
Las Palmas vs Cartagena (5) over 2.5 goals
Salamanca vs Celta de Vigo (5)
Rayo Vallecano de Madrid vs Elche (7)
Swiss Challenge League:
Delemont vs Chiasso (4)
Enjoy your free betting tips!