Malmo FF and HJK Helsinki meet in Sweden on Wednesday for the first leg of their all-Nordic UEFA Champions League qualifier.
Although they clinched the Finnish Veikkausliiga title last season, HJK have already come through one qualifying round to reach this stage.
5-0 🤩 pic.twitter.com/UbldshFEfK— Anel Ahmedhodzic (@Anelswe) July 17, 2021
5-0 🤩 pic.twitter.com/UbldshFEfK
Meanwhile, Malmo were also forced to enter the first round of UCL qualifying after winning the 2020 Swedish Allsvenskan title.
If their early-season form is anything to go by, Malmo look set to defend their domestic title this time around.
The Swedish champions find themselves four points clear at the top of the Allsvenskan table after securing eight wins, two draws and two losses from their opening 12 games.
Having netted 29 goals in that time (2.4 goals per game), Malmo are also the highest scorers in the Swedish top-flight by a considerable margin.
Malmo claimed a 2-1 aggregate win over Latvian side Riga in the previous round of Champions League qualifying.
They have also clinched a couple of high-scoring victories in their last two league meetings, thrashing Sirius 4-0 before crushing Degerfors 5-0 on Saturday.
On the other hand, HJK suffered their first defeat of the 2021 season last time out – going down 1-0 to Oulu on Saturday.
However, they still sit six points clear at the top of the Veikkausliiga, having sealed ten wins and one draw so far.
Not only are they the highest scorers in the Finnish top tier (23), but they also boast the best defensive record in the division (7).
It’s safe to say that HJK hammered Montenegrin outfit Buducnost Podgorica in the previous round of Champions League qualifying.
After sealing a 3-1 first-leg victory on home soil, the Finnish champions dispatched Podgorica 4-0 away from home – notching a 7-1 aggregate triumph.
Head-to-head: Malmo and HJK have met in three friendly matches since 2009, with Malmo dominating the fixture.
The Swedish side have claimed wins of 2-0, 4-0 and 4-0 over the years – scoring ten goals while keeping three clean sheets.
Team news: Malmo will be without veteran midfielder Ola Toivonen on Wednesday as he continues to recover from a long-term knee injury.
HJK don’t have any injury concerns and will look to Roope Riski (9 goals and 3 assists this season) to produce chances.
Malmo have beaten HJK comfortably in each of their previous three meetings, and a similar outcome is expected this time around.
Forebet predicts that Malmo will net over 1.5 goals on their way to racking up a first-leg advantage over HJK.