HJK Helsinki V HB Torshavn
Tuesday 9 July 2019 – 17:00 Kick-Off
UEFA Champions League First Round Qualifier
Pick: Over 3.5 Goals
Odds: 13/8
Bookmaker: BetFred
 |
1 | X | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2/11 | 5/1 | 11/1 |
* (Betting Odds were taken from Betfred on July 8, 2019 at 11:00)
Preview: Visiting side HB Torshavn have never managed to win away from home in continental competition before. Could Tuesday be the night we witness history, as the champions of the Faroe Islands travel to the Finnish capital to take on overwhelmingly strong favourites HJK Helsinki at the Telia 5G -areena?
Champions League Betting at Betfred
HJK Helsinki Preview – Finnish champions to assert their superiority?
Full name Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi, HJK Helsinki remain the only Finnish club to ever represent their country in the group stage of a Champions League. That was back in 1998 when a respectable sum of five points from six games wasn’t enough to avoid finishing bottom of their section. It remains Finland’s sole experience of Europe’s elite competition. Can they make a dream return through the qualifiers?
In order to achieve that, the club nicknamed Klubi would need to improve on their showing in last season’s qualifiers. A 2-1 aggregate defeat to Belarusian outfit BATE Borisov saw them eliminated at only the second qualifying round. Interestingly, in the preceding round they did face another team from Faroe Islands, recording victories home (3-1) and away (1-2) against Vikingur Gota. In theory, that performance should bode well ahead of facing very similar opposition. BetVictor offer 9/4 on another HJK win with both teams scoring.
However, their form this season – the current Finnish season began in April – hasn’t matched the spectacular heights of the one prior. Last term saw them completely dominate the division as they picked up their 29th league title, finishing 16 points clear atop of the standings. Sixteen games into the new campaign and they already find themselves down in third, only a point off the summit but having played more games whilst averaging significantly fewer points and goals scored compared to the last season.
Their form at home in particular has been indifferent (W3 D4 L1). After opening with a six match unbeaten run at their Telia 5G -areena, they have since failed to win either of their last two which includes a 1-0 loss to Honka only a matter of weeks ago. Meanwhile, 75% of their home fixtures have seen both teams involved in the scoring, with clean sheets proving elusive in front of their home fans. Both Teams to Score is 7/5 with Unibet.
HB Torshavn Preview – Can Faroese title holders defy the odds?
Clubs in the Faroe Islands all have semi-professional status. So it makes sense that they’ve never had a representative even come close to qualifying for the group stage of a Champions League. It would be a monumental achievement should any club manage it, and the latest to try their hand at creating a piece of history are HB Torshavn, full name Havnar Bóltfelag, often shortened to simply HB.
HB are the reigning champions in the Faroe Islands Premier League after obliterating their rivals last season (W24 D1 L2), finishing a staggering 18 points clear of the nearest pursuer. Unfortunately, though, those high standards have not been maintained in the current campaign. They have already suffered more losses after fifteen games played (W9 D3 L3) than they did throughout the whole of the previous season and currently languish down in fifth place, five points off the top.
Form has picked up recently, however. A comfortable 5-0 victory over bottom side Argir made it four wins in a row, racking up 19 goals in the process. Meanwhile it is now five wins in their last six fixtures away from home domestically, including two recent heavy wins over Skala Itrottarfelag (0-3) and Fuglafjordur (5-1). I am sure everybody will be familiar with both clubs, or perhaps not. You can get huge odds of 14/1 with BetVictor on a famous HB Torshavn away victory in this match.
It’s just as well HB will be bringing some noteworthy away form into this game because their record outside of the Faroe Islands in Europe is horrendous. That is not an exaggeration, either. In eight away Champions League qualifiers the Faroese champions have only managed to avoid defeat on a single occasion – a 1-1 draw in Gibraltar to Lincoln Red Imps, back in 2015. They have been regularly thrashed by five or six goals down the years.
Key Facts for HJK Helsinki V HB Torshavn
- HJK Helsinki have seen 75% of their home league games produce both teams to score this season.
- HB Torshavn are enjoying a four game winning streak, scoring 19 goals and conceding 5.
- This will be the very first meeting between the two teams.
Betting Summary
The Finnish Veikkausliiga is ranked 44th in the UEFA league rankings, a full 9 places higher than the Faroe Islands top league; only the leagues of San Marino and Andorra are beneath them, which speaks volumes. HJK Helsinki have had their issues this season, mainly with replicating the stunning highs of the previous campaign, but they’re still in reasonable form domestically and should comfortably negotiate this first leg against lowly opposition.
However, HB Torshavn are in good form themselves at present and although their good work has come against considerably poorer quality of opposition back home, their rich vein of scoring form could at least see them on the score sheet here. Especially with their opponents current issues relating to keeping clean sheets at home (75% of HJK’s home league games this season have produced both teams to score, as have each of their last four European home games stretching back to the 2017-18 season).
The shrewd bet is probably HJK Helsinki winning by a couple clear goals (Helsinki -1.75 on the Asian Handicap is available at 17/20 with Unibet). The more exciting, albeit potentially more risky, bets are either both teams scoring or over 3.5 goals.
