Nordic Football News

Here we go again. We have two games that start at weird times. It could be a good thing, as it is very hot in Finland this weekend and people are outdoors anyway, even if it is eight o’clock in the evening. Maybe a few will find their way to a football match?

FC Lahti (1oth) – Tampere United (11th), 7:30 PM

Lahti are having a difficult time in Veikkausliiga, having lost four of their last five games. On Wednesday Haka rolled over in Valkeakoski, winning 3-0. However, reports say Lahti are actually playing well enough, just not scoring. The problem might be on the mental side, so one win might just get them going.

TamU have been struggling as well, so this is a game between two underachievers. Ari Hjelm has praised the way his team have played, but somehow they are closer to relegation than European spots. Their last game saw them beat RoPS, which, no offence to RoPS people, should be a minimum for a team who want to claim European qualification.

In the light of the teams’ recent performances, it should be a tight game. I might go for a TamU win, if it wasn’t for them missing Toni Järvinen, Antti Pohja, Tomi Petrescu and possibly Mikko Kaven and Jari Niemi. Juha Pirinen is also out, but not necessarily of the same calibre as Järvinen & co. Lahti are only missing Jukka Veltheim and Niki Helenius. In these circumstances, I’m going for a draw – but either side could just edge it.

Draw

TPS (3rd) – MYPA (9th), 8 PM

A big youth tournament is taking place in Turku this weekend, and that explains the weird kick-off time, while hopefully bringing hundreds of kids to the game.

TPS have been undefeated in their last five games. On Wednesday they won RoPS, scoring three goals even though their performance was not of the highest standard. Then again, don’t they say good teams are able to win even when they’re not playing well? The players are finding themselves and the team have scored no less than 10 goals in their last three games, so they are becoming a force to be reckoned with.

MYPA have had more problems, winning only one of their last five games. However, they are always a team capable of producing a surprise. The key area in this game will be their defence, because TPS have some attacking power, as the scoresheets have demonstrated in recent times.

Pasi Rautiainen will hope Jaakko Nyberg is able to return to his TPS side. If he isn’t, we are about to see another strange combination of defenders in the backline. Jukka Lehtovaara and Kasper Hämäläinen should have had enough time to reload themselves after the U21 European Championships, and will return to TPS for this game. MYPA have to make do without Ady and Sampsa Timoska.

It should be a close game, but TPS are in a good run and have the better players, so it smells like a home win.