HJK hosts Fenerbahce in the second leg of the Europa League qualification final. The match will be played on Thursday, August 26th at Bolt Arena (Helsinki)
HJK started its way in European competitions from the 1st qualifying round of the Champions League. The Finns dealt with the Montenegrin Buducnost (3-1 and 4-0) but then lost to the Swedish Malmo (1-2 and 2-2). The players from Helsinki moved to the qualification of the UEL, where they were stronger than the Azerbaijani Neftchi in the 3rd round (2-2 and 3-0). On 23 August, HJK played an away match against Lahti in the Finnish championship. The outcome of the game was decided by a goal scored in the 8th minute by the striker David Browne. Then the leaders of Veikkausliiga played the score, preserving the minimum advantage. Koskela's coaching staff rotated the squad due to European competitions. Compared to the first match against Fenerbahce, only four players remained in the starting lineup — central defenders Daniel O'Shaughnessy and Valtteri Moren, defensive midfielder Jair, and striker Roope Riski.
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On August 22, Fenerbahce spent a lot of energy in the home confrontation against Antalyaspor. The Yellow Canaries, who had a game advantage, breached the opponents’ defense only in the 89th minute through the efforts of Miha Zajc. In added time, Fenerbahce players secured their success with a goal from Enner Valencia. Vitor Pereira decided to rotate the lineup to save the strength of the leaders. Compared to the Europa League match, only five players appeared in the starting lineup in the game against Antalyaspor — goalkeeper Altay Bayindyr, defenders Marcel Tisserand and Attila Szalai, as well as midfielders Jose Sosa and Luiz Gustavo. The victory over Antalyaspor was the 3rd in a row for Pereira’s charges in official matches. Together with four other clubs, Fenerbahce shares the leadership in the Turkish championship with six points scored.
The 1-0 victory in Istanbul significantly strengthened Fenerbahce's chances of reaching the Europa League group round. To accomplish this task, a draw in the upcoming game will be enough. However, it will not be so easy to gain it. HJK regularly scores at the native stadium in European competitions. Namely, the Blue-Whites have upset their competitors in the Champions League and the Europa League in 11 home matches in a row. In the current qualification, HJK has scored eight goals at home, including two goals in the match against strong Malmo. Fenerbahce has kept a clean sheet in all three games of this season. But the Turks have not the best statistics on goals conceded in European competitions. In the last eight away games in the Champions League and the UEL, the Canaries have invariably conceded from their opponents.
Prediction for the match: Both teams to score — yes
