Honka vs Tobol Kostanay Prediction & Betting Tips - Conference League

Prediction published on 18/07/2023, 07:15  by Devesh Jaganath in Conference League Predictions

FC Honka and Tobol Kostanay will face off in the first qualifying round second leg of the UEFA Conference League qualifiers on Thursday. The winner of this match will face Basel in the next round of qualifiers. Honka currently trails in the tie after losing 2-1 to the visitors in the first leg. The hosts took the early lead in the first leg but were unable to hold on to their advantage as the opponents dominated the second half. Honka currently sits fifth in the Veikkausliiga table, with 20 points, seven points behind Oulu in fourth. With that loss, the hosts have now recorded three wins, one draw, and two losses over the last six matches, which also included a cup win over SaIPa at the start of the month. Honka’s strength has been their home form this season, where they are currently unbeaten in their last four matches, with three wins and a draw. They did not compete in Europe last season, having only managed a ninth-placed finish in the 2021 season. They will have to go all-out in this one but may find it difficult against this opponent. 

Meanwhile, last year’s third-placed team in the Kazakhstan Premier League got their Conference League qualifiers off to an excellent start in the first leg. After a relatively lazy first-half performance, they turned it on in the second half of the contest, with Miljan Vakadinovic bagging two goals in under ten minutes to secure the victory for his side. With that win, Tobol are now on a four-match winning streak and have kept two clean sheets in that time. However, the visitors have found it much more difficult domestically this season as they are currently sixth in the league with 23 points, which is nine behind the top three teams. Their away record has been their major downfall, with just one win in their last five matches, along with three losses and a draw. While their away record is far from impressive, the manner in which they bossed the second half in the first leg will give them huge confidence, and needing just a draw here, Tobol will be strongly fancied to progress to the next round.