RoPS Rovaniemi and Honka Espoo meet in Rovaniemen Keskuskenttä, in a match for the 26th round of the Veikkausliiga. Honka Espoo won out (1-2), the last time they met in this league edition, on 03-05-2018. The record of recent direct confrontations between these two teams could not be more balanced, since there was 1 draw and 1 win for each team in the last 3 matches they played. The last direct confrontation between these two teams, on 06-30-2018, ended with a draw by (2-2).
RoPS Rovaniemi:
After 13 wins, 7 draws and 5 losses, the home team is currently in the 2 nd position, with 46 points won. In the penultimate match, they won in an away match against FC Lahti, by (1-2). In the last match, they tied in an away match against Inter Turku, by (0-0). In the last 10 home league matches RoPS Rovaniemi has a record of 6 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses, so they have won 19 points out of 30 possible. In their home league matches the most frequent result at half-time was the 0-0 (8 out of 12 matches). Their attack has scored regularly, since they have scored goals in 7 of the last 10 matches for this competition. In their home matches there is a tendency for few goals, since 9 of the last 12 matches for this competition have ended with Under 2,5 goals. In 25 matches in this competition, they only won 1 comeback in the 7 matches they suffered the first goal. In the last 12 home matches for this competition there is 1 period that stands out: they have scored 8 of their 16 goals between minutes (76′-90 ‘).
The Rops come to this unmotivated day, after having scored a goalless draw against Inter Turku, however, recorded the fourth game followed without losing in this competition. The locals have as main objective to maintain the second position in the table, since the first place is increasingly difficult. In this match at home coach Toni Koskela must maintain the usual 4-2-3-1, Hambo being the most offensive reference of the team. On the other hand, the attacking midfielder Lucas Lingman is the great highlight of the RoPS, with 5 goals and 3 assists. For this game the coach can count on all the players.
Honka Espoo:
The away team is currently in the 3 rd position of the league, with 41 points won, after 10 wins, 11 draws and 4 losses. In the penultimate match, they tied in an away match against IFK Mariehamn, by (0-0). In the last match, they won in a home match against FC Lahti, by (2-0). For the league, Honka Espoo won 15 points out of 30 possible points, after 3 wins, 6 draws and 1 loss in the last 10 home matches.
For this competition, they have not lost any of the last 6 away matches. Their attack has scored regularly, since they have scored goals in 8 of the last 10 matches for this competition. In 25 matches in this tournament, they have conceded the first goal 9 times, but have turned the score around in 3. There is 1 period that stands out in the last 12 away matches for this competition: they have suffered 6 of their 16 goals between minutes (76′- 90 ‘).
The Honka has made a very positive championship and is currently among the first in the table. It is important to underline that the visitors beat Lahti on the last day of the Finnish championship, by 2-0: the goals were scored by Ivanov and Kandji. On this day away from home, coach Vesa Vasara must play with a strategy based on counterattack, exploring in the best way the space in the back of the opponent. The Senegalese Macoumba Kandji is the highlight of this training visitor, with 14 goals and 1 assistance. For this game the coach can not count on Masar Omer, player recovering from injury.
PREDICTION: Both teams to score / NO @ 1.93
