Larne FC vs HJK Helsinki Prediction & Betting Tips - Champions League

Prediction published on 17/07/2023, 16:30  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 17/07/2023 at 16:32 in Champions League Predictions

Larne will play host to HJK Helsinki in the first qualifying round, second leg of the UEFA Champions League qualifiers on Wednesday. The winner of this match will take on Norwegian champions Molde in round two. The hosts currently trail the visitors 1-0 after Bojan Radulovic scored from the penalty spot in the first five minutes of the opening leg last week. Larne won the National Division title for the first time in their history last season with a six-point margin. Their domestic league will only get underway next month, but they did contest the Charity Shield at the start of the month and lost 2-0 to the Crusaders. They have played as many as five friendlies in the preseason and won them all, scoring a whopping 22 goals while only conceding one in that time. Larne will take great confidence from their excellent record at home, where they were beaten only once across the entire domestic league season. However, the hosts were outplayed in the first leg, managing just three shots at goal in the match and none on target. This is their first appearance in these qualifiers, and will likely find it difficult to overcome a Helsinki side that have been an ever-present over the years. 

HJK Helsinki claimed their third consecutive Veikkausliiga title last season and 32nd of all time to further solidify themselves as the top club in Finland. However, they have found it a little more difficult this term as they are currently in third place in the league, and four points behind SJK in first. Prior to the first leg encounter, Helsinki suffered a costly 1-0 defeat to third-bottom FC Lahti that saw them overtaken into second place by KuPS. Over their last six matches, the visitors have won three, drawn two, and lost one, scoring six and conceding four in that time. Helsinki are on a six-match unbeaten streak in away matches, though they have struggled to turn one point into three, winning just one while drawing five of those matches. However, their performance in the first leg was enough to suggest that they will be very hard to beat in this one, and we fancy that they will be the side to progress to the next round.