Haka take on the visitors Ilves in Finnish Veikkausliiga. The match will be played on Monday, July 15th at Tehtaan Kenttä (Valkeakoski)
Haka has improved, but it wasn't difficult. The "Black and Whites" have been champions of the country and cup holders several times. However, their last rise was in the early 2000s, and after 2005, they not only failed to win any trophies but also lost their place in the Veikkausliiga. They returned to the top tier by the end of the 2019 season and even made it to the European competitions – last year, the team played in the Europa Conference League qualifiers against Crusaders. However, that season ended with only a 9th place finish. Currently, they are comfortably above the "equator" of the table, but not much more. That said, the 1-2 loss to SJK was only their fourth defeat this season, and after that, in July, they thrashed Mariehamn 3-0 away.
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Ilves have only been champions once, back in 1983. They marked the 40th anniversary of that triumph by winning a new trophy, the Finnish Cup, their fourth in history (the last was in 2019). So, despite finishing 8th in the league last season, the club from Tampere is now preparing to start in the Europa League – their first opponent at the end of the month will be Austria Wien. So far, it looks like they will be in optimal form for that match. They are only a couple of points behind the league leaders, having lost just one of their last 12 matches. Although they had five consecutive wins from late April to May, they added only two more after that. However, in the last round, they thrashed the champions, HJK, 3-0.
Since 2022, Haka has not lost in nine consecutive head-to-head matches. But in May, they were crushed in Tampere 0-5. It is unlikely that the Lynxes will repeat the home thrashing from late spring. But they should win this match again.
Prediction for the match: Ilves to win.
