Kazakhstani club Tobol Kostanay host Finnish outfit FC Honka Espoo on Thursday as the two sides meet for the first leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League qualifier.
Tobol head into Thursday’s clash on the back of a 1-0 victory over Atyrau in the Kazakh Cup semi-finals, while Honka suffered a 1-0 defeat to SJK in the Finnish Veikkausliiga.
Juan Alegria sinetöi Hongan välieräpaikan tällä, illan toisella osumallaan johon syötön kirjautti Elias Äijälä!#MeOllaanHonka #SuomenCup #Veikkausliiga pic.twitter.com/w1ZWGVJkLD— Esport Honka (@EsportHonka) July 5, 2023
Juan Alegria sinetöi Hongan välieräpaikan tällä, illan toisella osumallaan johon syötön kirjautti Elias Äijälä!#MeOllaanHonka #SuomenCup #Veikkausliiga pic.twitter.com/w1ZWGVJkLD
Can Tobol register a first-leg advantage on home soil? Or will Honka manage to pick up a positive result on their travels?
Tobol Kostanay enter the first leg on the back of three successive 1-0 wins over Atyrau, having defeated their opponents in both the Kazakhstan Premier League and Kazakh Cup.
When you look at the bigger picture, Tobol have won seven of their previous nine matches across all competitions, keeping six clean sheets for good measure.
Possessing a record of seven wins, two draws and five losses, Tobol find themselves sixth in the Kazakhstan Premier League after 14 games.
It is also worth noting that Tobol have won four of their last five league outings, underlining their strength on home soil.
As for FC Honka Espoo, they suffered a 1-0 defeat against Finnish Veikkausliiga leaders SJK last time out, despite racking up 57% possession and 16 shots.
As a result, Honka find themselves fifth in the table – 11 points shy of SJK - having recorded five wins, five draws and six defeats up to now.
Across all competitions, Honka have lost just one of their previous seven encounters, picking up three victories and three draws in the process.
Better still, Honka have suffered only two defeats in their last nine clashes across all competitions, notching four wins and three draws along the way.
Head-to-head: Thursday’s clash will be the first competitive meeting between Tobol and Honka, meaning there are no previous results to investigate for this fixture.
Team news: Tobol Kostanay look set to be without injured Russian centre-back Albert Gabaraev for the first leg.
FC Honka Espoo also have one name on their injury list, with 28-year-old midfielder Jerry Voutilainen expected to miss Thursday’s match.
Having won each of their last three matches 1-0, Tobol Kostanay will be confident of securing another shutout victory in midweek.
Forebet predicts that Tobol will score under 1.5 goals and keep a clean sheet on their way to getting the better of Honka.