- League positions: Gnistan are 3rd in the Veikkausliiga 2026 with 35 points from 21 games, TPS are 7th on 30 points from the same number of games.
- Head-to-head goals: Gnistan have averaged 1.0 goals per game at home to TPS (5 goals in 5), while TPS have averaged 1.5 away to Gnistan.
- Market odds: The odds favor Gnistan at 1.98, which is a big gap from TPS at 3.45 and the draw at 3.65.
IF Gnistan Helsinki
Management and recent form
Jussi Leppaelahti has done a fantastic job since taking over Gnistan's coaching job on 1 January 2024. Kipinä come into this game in excellent form – 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss in their last 5 – and after back-to-back wins, they're looking to build on that momentum.
Gnistan have a 3-2 win over Ilves and a 3-2 away win over HJK in their previous two outings. There's a real swagger about them this time around, and they're a force to be reckoned with.
Style
Kipinä's fast paced style has been strong, but they'll need to get in front of Tepsi again to get the job done this time.
Key player
- Adeleke Akinyemi is Gnistan's main man, scoring 12 goals in 21 Veikkausliiga 2026 games in 2026, while 4 of the last 9 goals Gnistan have scored have come via his boots.
FC TPS Turku
Ivan Pinol has coached TPS since 20 January 2025 and has done a decent job of keeping TPS in the upper-middle of the Veikkausliiga 2026 table with a compact, direct 4-3-3-style setup. TPS won 3-1 away to VPS before being held 0-0 at home by FC Inter Turku.
Their form is 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 defeat in the last 5, which isn't a bad run, but Tepsi needs to be more ruthless if they want to climb the table. Albijon Muzaci leads the way in the Tepsi line-up with 8 goals in 21 Veikkausliiga 2026 matches, while Kian Visser has 3 of their 7 goals in the same period.
Tepsi's style is to play fast and vertical, they like getting on the break when they can and they have a clear game-plan when they don't have the ball. TPS should be able to breach Gnistan's defense, who have shipped 16 goals in 10 home Veikkausliiga 2026 games, if they can get through the press cleanly.
Game day decisions
We think both teams to score at 1.59 is a live bet here, but we'll take the Gnistan win with over 2.5 goals at 1.66 for our prediction. Gnistan are the stronger of the two teams by far, but Tepsi's transition play makes them a threat on the counter.
We think TPS will keep this one close, but Gnistan should have enough to come out on top.
