In the 7th round of the Finnish Veikkausliiga on May 17, 2024, HJK will face VPS. The hosts, favorites of the local championship, have had a poor start and are trailing the current leader. The guests, however, have been pleasantly surprising by outperforming the giants early in the season.

Key statistics and trends:

• HJK has only dropped points at home against Ekenäs, drawing 0-0.
• VPS has only dropped points against SJK at the start, winning all other matches, but lost to KuPS in the last round.
• The most common result between the clubs is a 3-0 win for HJK (7 times).
• HJK has scored 27% of their goals, and VPS 33% of their goals, between the 46th and 60th minutes.

HJK - Form analysis: Performing below expectations

"Klubi" is not just historically the best football team in the country; since 2020, they have won all the championship titles. Naturally, they had no intention of relinquishing the "gold." However, they lost 1-3 to KuPS in the first round, and after a couple of wins, started drawing with all opponents, increasing the gap from the leader. But the leader stumbled, and a single goal from Olusanya helped them beat Inter Turku.

VPS - Form analysis: Continued progress

"Vepsu" played in Ykkönen in 2021. However, last season they won "bronze," their best result in a decade. This season, they can achieve even more. Jussi Nuorela's team only failed to win against SJK, despite having the advantage in that match. They met May as the sole leaders, but KuPS cooled their hot streak with a victory.

HJK: Team news

All players are available.

VPS: Team news

They have managed to avoid injuries so far.

Possible starting lineups for HJK vs. VPS:

HJK (possible lineup): Henriksson - Pallas, Thomas, Toivio, Lyons-Foster - Sarpei, Lingman, Keskinen, Olusanya, Bande - Plainje

VPS (possible lineup): Leislahti - Haukioja, Pedro Gomes, Niemi - Alfie Cicale, Bashkirov, Vahtera, Ahiabu, Alanko - Borkers, Hytonen

Previous matches

HJK has not lost since 2017, frequently winning against all other clubs in the country. However, in October, VPS achieved a 3-2 victory at home.

Free prediction for the HJK vs. VPS match on May 17:

A victory for the hosts is expected in Helsinki. They indeed strive to regain their usual leading positions, but the guests have been good in the spring and will try to prove that their last defeat was an unpleasant exception. We expect "total goals over 2.5" (odds – 1.78).