Rigas Futbola skola vs HJK Helsinki – 12/07/2022
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On Tuesday, Rigas Futbola Skola (RFS) of Latvia and Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi (HJK) of Finland meet for the second leg of their UEFA Champions League qualifier.
HJK carry a 1-0 lead into the second leg after winning on home soil last week, with Manuel Martic scoring the only goal of the game.
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Tarkempaa raporttia maanantaina, erinomaista viikkoa kaikille!#HJK #OnVainYksiKlubi pic.twitter.com/zrmAorybEf— HJK Helsinki (@hjkhelsinki) July 10, 2022
Can the Finnish outfit reach the next round on Tuesday? Or will the Latvians be able to turn things around in front of their home fans? It’s time to take a closer look at the teams.
Let’s start with the hosts, RFS, who head into the second leg on the back of a routine 4-0 victory over Spartakas Jurmala in the last 16 of the Latvian Cup.
Thanks to that victory, RFS have won three of their last four games. Their only defeat during that period came against HJK in Finland.
Across April and May, RFS enjoyed a hugely impressive eight-game winning streak in the Latvian top flight – keeping four clean sheets in the process.
They have struggled for consistency since then, however, registering three wins, one draw and three losses in their previous seven outings across all competitions.
As for HJK, they find themselves second in the Finnish Veikkausliiga with a record of eight wins, three draws and three losses.
Although they are three points clear of third-place FC Honka, they remain six points behind first-place KuPS.
HJK have only managed to win one of their last five matches in all competitions, recording three defeats and one draw along the way.
That said, they have lost just three of their previous 14 encounters across all competitions – meaning they will be confident of dispatching RFS.
Head-to-head: The first leg was the first and only competitive meeting between RFS and HJK. That means HJK have the upper hand in the H2H records.
However, the two sides have played two friendlies in recent times. HJK beat RFS 2-1 back in 2020 before RFS gained their revenge with a 2-0 win in January of this year.
Team news: With no injury worries, RFS will be looking to Serbian striker Andrej Ilic and Brazilian winger Emerson Deocleciano to produce some magic on Tuesday.
Unfortunately for HJK, they will be without the injured trio of Roope Riski, Valtteri Moren and Miska Ylitolva for the second leg.
Given that HJK claimed a relatively comfortable win in the first leg, the Finnish outfit are expected to complete the job on Tuesday.
Forebet predicts that HJK will keep a clean sheet on their way to securing a low-scoring victory in the second leg.
