HJK Helsinki and Ilves meet at Sonera Stadium, in a match for Matchday 5 of the Veikkausliiga. In this stadium, the history of direct confrontations is favorable to the home team, which registers 3 wins and 1 draw in the last 4 games. However, the last time these two teams played a match at this stadium was on 03‑05‑2019, in a match for Veikkausliiga that ended in a draw by (0‑0). The home advantage may play an important role in this match, since Ilves presents considerable differences in their results at home and as a visitor.
HJK Helsinki :
After 3 wins and 1 loss, the home team is currently in 4th position, with 6 points won. In their last match, they defeated TPS Turku by (0‑2), after in the previous match they lost (1‑0) out, in a match against Inter Turku. This is a team little affected by the home factor, that is, it presents similar results at home and away, since in the last 30 games it has recorded 7 wins, 3 draws and 5 losses as a visitor, with 21 goals scored and 15 suffered; against 10 victories, 4 draws and 1 defeat in his stadium, with 34 goals scored and 13 suffered. In the last 10 home matches for all competitions, HJK Helsinki have won 8 and lost 2. Their offense has scored consistently, as they have scored goals in 3 of the last 4 matches for this competition. In their home matches there is a tendency for goals, since 12 of the last 16 matches have ended with Over 2,5 goals.
The home team is the biggest champion in Finnish history, with a total of 47 national titles, 29 of which in the current competition. Despite having lost his hegemony in 2015, after dominating the competition for 6 consecutive years, he returned to the top in 2017 and won a double championship in 2018, but in 2019 he had a bad campaign and finished only in 5th place. This year, he reached the Finnish Cup final undefeated and his only loss, in the third round of the Veikkausliiga, was away from home, against Inter Turku, by (1-0). HJK Helsinki played 4 games, in which they won 3 and lost 1, with 9 goals scored and only 2 suffered. This team has balance in all sectors of the field and due to this, it rarely loses. His solid defense always makes victories calmer and his attack rarely fails to meet the goal of scoring.
Ilves :
The visiting team is currently in 3rd position, with 8 points won, after 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss. In the penultimate match, they tied in a home match against KuPS Kuopio, by (0‑0). In the last match, they tied in an away match against RoPS Rovaniemi, by (1‑1). This is a team that curiously tends to achieve more positive results as a visitor than at home, since in the last 30 games it has recorded 8 wins, 4 draws and 3 losses as a visitor, with 24 goals scored and 19 suffered; against 8 victories, 3 draws and 4 defeats in his stadium, with 26 goals scored and 16 suffered. In the last 10 away matches Ilves has recorded 4 wins, 4 draws and 2 losses. Their offense has scored consistently, as they have scored goals in 4 of the last 5 matches for this competition. In the last 11 home matches for all competitions there is 1 period that stands out: they have scored 6 of their 17 goals between minutes (76′ ‑ 90 ‘).
This is a traditional Finnish team, although it is not among the biggest winners as it only has 6 national titles. The last time was in the Finnish Cup last year, but this year the team has already been eliminated from the competition. In total, in 2020, Ilves Tampere has 6 wins, 4 draws and only 2 losses in 12 games, with a balance of 21 goals scored and 14 suffered. We can see that this is a team that knows the way of the rival goal, but that presents some defensive instability. Much for this, the team comes from three games without victories, with 2 draws and 1 loss, 6 goals suffered and only 2 scored. Therefore, the expectation is that Ilves will have difficulties in this match, since he plays away from home against a very competent rival in his domain.
