We have several fixtures to look forward to in the 2023/24 Champions League first qualifying round this week, including the meeting between HJK Helsinki and Larne FC.
The game will be played on the 12th of July at the Bolt Arena and the hosts are currently 3rd in the Veikkausliiga while Larne won the title in Northern Ireland last season.
Kuvia eilisestä @hjkhelsinki v @FCLahti1996 -ottelusta.1/3#HJK #FCLahti #Veikkausliiga pic.twitter.com/VEWCbDpJyQ— Riku Laukkanen (@r1kuexposures) July 9, 2023
Kuvia eilisestä @hjkhelsinki v @FCLahti1996 -ottelusta.1/3#HJK #FCLahti #Veikkausliiga pic.twitter.com/VEWCbDpJyQ
HJK come into the match on the back of a 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Lahti in the Veikkausliiga on the weekend.
The only goal of the game was scored in the 33rd minute and HJK could not find a route back into the match.
It was a disappointing loss against a team currently in 9th place in the table.
The defeat against Lahti was the first loss for HJK in 6 fixtures and they may have had one eye on this upcoming Champions League match.
They had won 2 and drawn 3 of their previous 5 fixtures, with the wins coming over Lahti away and KTP at home. The draws were against Haka and Honka away plus SJK at home.
Trends show the most recent games of HJK consist of 3 consecutive defeats in the Champions League.
However, they are not easy to beat at home and HJK are undefeated in 5 of their 6 most recent Champions League fixtures on home soil.
There have been wins over HB, Red Star Belgrade, Buducnost, and Rigas FS.
Larne travel to the Bolt Arena having played a series of friendly matches in the build up to this game.
The most recent friendly was a 4-0 away victory against Ballyclare Comrades but Larne did suffer a 2-0 defeat in the Northern Ireland Super Cup against Crusaders at the beginning of July.
Crusaders opened the scoring shortly after half time and added a second goal near the end of the game.
If we include the Super Cup as a competitive match, that result means Larne have failed to win any of their 3 most recent competitive fixtures.
In addition to that loss, there was a defeat at Coleraine in the Premiership and a draw at home with Linfield, also in the domestic league.
This is the first time Larne have competed in the Champions League but last season they were eliminated from the Europa Conference League in the first qualifying round.
Team news: HJK will start with Serbian Bojan Radulović in attack. Experienced defender Joona Toivio will play at the back, with Greek Giorgos Kanellópoulos operating in midfield.
Larne will have Lee Bonis and Paul O'Neill starting in the forward positions and Scot Rohan Ferguson will start in goal.
As with many of the Champions League first qualifying round games, there is likely to be little to split the teams in Helsinki.
Having the home advantage could be what makes the difference and HJK could have a single goal lead to take with them to Northern Ireland for the second leg.