HJK Helsinki vs Silkeborg IF Match Analysis and Prediction

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HJK Helsinki play host to Silkeborg IF at the Sonera Stadium in the first leg of their Europa League qualifying playoff-round tie on Thursday.

The visitors head into the contest off the back of suffering their first defeat of the 2022-23 Danish Superliga campaign and will look to quickly return to winning ways.

HJK Helsinki secured their place in the playoff round of the Europa League qualifiers last Thursday, when they claimed a second-leg victory over Maribor.

Following a drab first half at the Sonera Stadium, Santeri Hostikka came up trumps for the hosts as he scored nine minutes into the second half to see off the Slovenian side 3-0 on aggregate.

HJK Helsinki were previously denied a fourth win on the bounce in the Finnish Veikkausliiga, as they were held to a 1-1 stalemate by AC Oulu when Michael Lopez and Bojan Radulovic scored for either side to force a share of the spoils.

Toni Koskela’s side are currently third in the Finnish top flight standings and head into Thursday on a run of four wins from their last five games on home ground.

On the other hand, Silkeborg were forced to their first defeat of the 2022-23 Danish top-flight campaign, as they were beaten 2-0 away to Viborg when the sides met last Sunday.

Kent Nielsen’s side had previously kicked off their new season with a 2-2 draw against Lyngby in their league opener on July 17, before picking up three wins from their subsequent three matches.

While they will look to return to winning ways and secure an early march on in their race for the Europa League group stages, Silkeborg have managed to claim just one win from their last five competitive away matches, picking up one draw and losing three game since the start of May.

HJK Helsinki vs Silkeborg IF head to head

The two teams have not previously met in any competition and this will be their first meeting in the first leg of their Europa League qualifying playoff-round tie.

HJK Helsinki latest home form

HJK Helsinki have recently been on a relatively good run of form at home, having lost just one of their six most recent matches. They defeated Maribor 1-0 in their last home game in the Europa League. In their last five matches, they have scored seven goals and conceded three.

HJK 1-0 Rigas FS 06/07/22

HJK 3-1 VPS 16/07/22

HJK 1-2 Viktoria Plzen 20/07/22

HJK 1-0 Mariehamn 30/07/22

HJK 1-0 Maribor 11/08/22

HJK Helsinki latest away form

HJK Helsinki have recently been on a relatively good run of form on the road, having lost just one of their five most recent matches. They drew 1-1 with Oulu in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored six goals and conceded nine.

Rigas FS 2-1(P) HJK 12/07/22

Ilves 1-2 HJK 23/07/22

Viktoria Plzen 5-0 HJK 26/07/22

Maribor 0-2 HJK 04/08/22

Oulu 1-1 HJK 07/08/22

Silkeborg IF latest home form

Silkeborg have recently been on a good run of form at home, as they have lost just one of their eight most recent matches. They managed to defeat AaB 3-1 in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored nine goals and conceded five.

Silkeborg 1-0 Randers 06/05/22

Silkeborg 1-4 Midtjylland 16/05/22

Silkeborg 2-0 St Pauli 01/07/22

Silkeborg 2-0 Brondby 31/07/22

Silkeborg 3-1 AaB 08/08/22

Silkeborg IF latest away form

Silkeborg have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having won just two of their six most recent matches. They lost 2-0 to Viborg in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored eight goals and conceded seven.

Brondby 2-1 Silkeborg 22/05/22

FC Copenhagen 0-2 Silkeborg 27/06/22

Lyngby 2-2 Silkeborg 17/07/22

Midtjylland 1-3 Silkeborg 22/07/22

Viborg 2-0 Silkeborg 14/08/22

HJK Helsinki news

HJK Helsinki will have to make do without the experienced duo of Roope Riski and defender Valtteri Moren, who have both been ruled out through knee injuries.

Midfielder Manuel Martic is also out of contention for the hosts as he continues his long journey to full fitness from a leg injury.

Silkeborg IF news

Nielsen will be unable to call upon midfielders Niclas Holm Pedersen and Andreas Oggesen, who are recovering from back and muscle injuries respectively.

Defender Oscar Fuglsang is set to sit his seventh consecutive game through a thigh problem, while Gustav Dahl is yet to feature this year due to a long-term injury.

Prediction and Odds

HJK have enjoyed an impressive campaign in the Europa League qualifiers, but they should expect a tough challenge from Silkeborg.

We expect an exciting contest with both sides likely to cancel each other out and settling for a draw, leaving all to play for in the second leg next week.

Odds: 1 2.20 X 2.05 2 2.28