TFT Issue 155!
FreeHowdy guys and girls!
Featured game
FC Lahti vs Viikingit Helsinki – home win with -1 Asian Handicap at evens.
Today’s featured game is the Ykkonen clash between FC Lahti and Viikingit Helsinki. Both sides are expected to compete for promotion this season but only one side has shown their ability to get promoted out of these two and that’s FC Lahti.
I’d probably argue that AC Oulu are the best side in the Ykkonen but FC Lahti are very close behind them. With Stafsula away for a month or so, AC Oulu lack goals and subsequently, I would name FC Lahti as the best side in the Ykkonen at the current time. Five home games, five wins, an average of over two goals scored per home game and just one goal conceded. They’ve beaten the -1 handicap in three out of their five home games and have actually won five out of their last six games overall. The only side to beat FC Lahti this season has unsurprisingly been AC Oulu and that was away from home. With legend Rafael back in attack after his injury and Kemppinen alongside him, FC Lahti finally have goals in them again and they look all the better for it. There’s still work to do defensively but I rate this team very highly indeed.
Visitors Viikingit Helsinki are a side I like but that’s more on a personal level than on a professional level. They nearly got promoted last season but have since lost their manager and a few good players to boot so they’re doing pretty damn well to be where they are in the division right now, in my view. They’ve pulled out some decent displays lately although it must be noted that they were mostly against inferior sides. Nonetheless, efficiency is what gets a side promoted from the Ykkonen and they do have that at the moment. Indeed, it’s hard to see a game of theirs that they dominate – they don’t actually create many chances, to be honest! They’re a side to be wary of for most Ykkonen clubs but I genuinely feel that they’re a class below FC Lahti and that should show by the end of the game today.
Viikingit’s threat usually comes from ex-HJK Helsinki winger Peteri, attacking midfielder Peltonen, or striker Korhonen so they’re not impossible to stop from scoring. Lahti have goals in them all over the team but especially so in their lethal duo up front. For me, it’s not a question of whether Lahti will win or not – it’s a question of how many they’ll win by. Given that Viikingit have had a bit of luck lately (unlike some of us!), I’ve sided with the asian handicap instead of the european handicap here. Either way, I expect FC Lahti to win this game by at least two goals so my call is FC Lahti to beat the -1 asian handicap at good odds of evens.
Verdict: FC Lahti to beat the -1 Asian Handicap at evens.