Honka v IFK Mariehamn

Third from top against third from bottom in the Finnish Veikkausliiga – but both sides are coming into this game on the back of wins. Honka’s impressive start to the season has seen them keep up with the leaders and go into this round within touching distance of second place.

Honka followed up their significant win over KuPS with a hard-fought away victory at VPS, Finland U21 defender Matias Rale scoring the only goal. Without the distractions of European qualifiers in the coming weeks and no Finnish Cup, Honka should be well placed to keep a fresh squad while their rivals have to travel. Honka’s 2022 reinvention of fast transitions and dynamic wide play still seems to have caught rivals cold and I can’t see them struggling to recreate that against Mariehamn.

The visitors have had another poor season but a surprising 2-1 win against HJK in their last match shocked most, especially the 2016 champions. Brazilian forward De scored his first league goal to seal the win, probably enough to retain his place in the side after a number of sub appearances. But most observers will have noted that again the inefficiency of the losers, who had 14 shots, twelve corners and forced seven saves from the busy Mariehamn keeper – who was a stand-in as the regular keeper Elmo Henriksson was on loan from HJK. No away wins yet this season is likely to continue – and it is likely to continue on Saturday.

If Honka have been working on their shooting in their time off, the ferry home to Mariehamn is likely to feel even longer.

HJK Helsinki v KuPS

The top two resume hostilities this weekend with this already being tagged as the title decider. In the last meeting in May, it was a tough 0-0 draw but had more significance for last year’s champions.

HJK’s form since that draw has been dreadful – they’ve only scored one goal in their last five matches (in defeat to Mariehamn), have been eliminated from the Suomen Cup after a penalty shootout defeat and have lost several key players to long-term injuries. Bojan Radulovic remains after a suspension and will likely to be the only genuine goal threat but losing key defenders Joona Toivio and Valtteri Moren leaves huge gaps in defence. With a Champions League qualifier against RFS (Latvia) to come, this is the biggest ten days of 2022 without doubt.

KuPS meanwhile regrouped after losing their long unbeaten run – a win against AC Oulu and progressing to the cup semi-final, while the signing of former HJK goal machine Filip Valencic will boost the attack (Valencic cannot play until mid-July). The spine of the KuPS team has looked solid and are well placed to go to HJK as favourites. A three point lead with a game in hand is a useful cushion, but in 2021 HJK had an eleven point lead with a game in hand and almost blew it. Points on the board are vital as KuPS also have a Euro qualifier appointment, this time in Georgia. Tim Vayrynen is in great form, top of the scoring charts and the big threat.

AC Oulu v VPS

Two sides enjoying a better than expected 2022 meet in the middle of the table. Oulu celebrate their twentieth anniversary by hosting VPS, needing a win to keep in the hunt for a European place next season.

After their shock win at HJK, Oulu went down fighting against KuPS but have made some changes in their squad. Finland striker Rasmus Karjalainen has returned to his former club in a bid to regain his place in the national team after missing out on Euro 2020 (he’s ineligible until mid-July) while Liechtenstein international Dennis Salanovic has left. Club captain Rafinha celebrated his 40^th birthday this week but will miss this match due to suspension, as will their key midfielder Magnus Breitenmoser. May’s manager of the month Ricardo Duarte will need to earn his money if the big party goes to plan.

When these two sides met on the opening day, an entertaining 2-2 draw was the result. In their loss to Honka last time out, VPS struggled to get out of first gear despite their previous good form. On-loan Ipswich forward Tete Yengi hasn’t scored in five matches but veteran Kalle Multanen has four goals in his last five appearances. VPS actually have a stronger away record this season which may put a diminished Oulu under some pressure, with ten goals in their last three road trips. Youngster Roni Hudd (born 2005) has shown some serious potential in the last two games and his integration into the side appears to be managed sensitively, likely to be given a run out during the second half and drop a few hand grenades in the Oulu defence.

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Lahti v Inter Turku

Both sides came through tough Suomen Cup quarter-finals this week but have had wildly different seasons so far. Lahti needed an injury-time winner to progress against lower-division opponents at home, while Inter defeated HJK on penalties. The two sides resume hostilities soon as their previous meeting was only ten days ago, where Inter coasted to a 5-1 win.

Lahti’s poor league form has seen them drop into the bottom two, sacking manager Ilir Zeneli after an insipid performance which saw defender Alan Henrique sent off for a handball and the rest of the side collapsed. This was the second time Lahti have conceded five goals already, so now former RoPS manager Mikko Mannila has taken the manager role. The feted loan signing of winger Albion Ademi has provided little spark, while the rest of the side is a rabble. The indiscipline continued in midweek when keeper Antonio Reguero was dismissed for a horrible two-footed lunge, while Henrique and Penninkangas are also banned for this. Cup progress aside, Lahti has gone from a midtable stape to a side in serious danger of the drop.

Inter meanwhile said farewell to their top scorer Benjamin Källman in midweek when his contract expired, but they did need penalties to get past HJK after a goalless ninety minutes. The maverick Petteri Forsell continues to be deadly from set-pieces but Inter will be keen to find their goalscorer soon. David Haro has scored four league goals but not hugely impressed otherwise, but this game should present a decent chance to add to that tally. Inter’s goals for column is the strongest in the table and should add to that tally again in a convincing fashion.

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