- Away form: Motherwell have a good recent record away, W3, L3 (all competitions).
- Home form: HJK have a very good recent home record, W4, D1, L1 (all competitions).
- Team form: Joonas Rantanen's men are in great form, W7, L2 in their last 10 (all competitions).
Familiar styles should play out on field
Playing styles
Motherwell's visit to the Bolt Arena in Finland for a UEFA Conference League qualifier against HJK Helsinki should be a matchup of two very different playing styles that should both be on full display. Joonas Rantanen's hosts like to control games and get wide to open up the play, while Motherwell like to press, play quickly on the transition and look to move the ball vertically.
Manager and recent results
Alfred Johansson only took charge of Motherwell on 1st July 2026 and his brief will be to maintain the high-energy framework and fine-tune the tactical details to get the best out of his new team. The Well have strung back-to-back wins together after beating HB Torshavn 2-0 at home and 3-0 away in UEFA Conference League qualification after suffering a wild 3-4 defeat to Dutch side Genk in their first qualifier.
Away record and key man
The visitors have a decent recent record on the road, winning three and losing three of their last six away fixtures in all competitions. They have been particularly dangerous on the road and have Lukas Fadinger, who has scored two in two in this competition, to thank for his goal-scoring exploits in their final third.
Home advantage should see HJK through
HJK are also in great form, having won seven and lost only two of their last ten in all competitions. They've just come off the back of a four-game winning streak that included a 1-0 home win over FC TPS Turku in the Veikkausliiga and a 3-0 win away to Coleraine in Europe. Teemu Pukki is their main finisher and has two goals in two in this year's UEFA Conference League qualification.
The Finnish champions can be very impressive when they get it right, setting up from a compact 3-4-2-1 formation and using their wing-backs to stretch the play. When the wide channels open, Rantanen's side are very dangerous on the counter attack with Pukki's sharp movement giving them a real poacher's edge in the box.
Betting and predictions
This should be a tight match and the home advantage could just make the difference in this European tussle.
- The visitors are slight favorites at 2.55, with HJK available at 2.65 and the draw at 3.3, but we're going to go with the Finns here.
- HJK average 2.17 goals scored and 1.50 goals conceded per home match across all competitions so far this season, suggesting we could see some goals and gaps at the back at some stage of the game.
- Backing both teams to score at 1.6 looks tempting and certainly matches the style of this matchup, but Over 2.5 goals at 1.78 is just as good and probably better suits the tone of this game.
