The first leg in Slovenia had ended 2-0 in favour of Helsinki courtesy of goals from David Browne and Bojan Radulovic.
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HJK Helsinki will host Maribor in their second leg of the Europa League third round qualification fixture on Thursday. The first leg in Slovenia had ended 2-0 in favour of Helsinki courtesy of goals from David Browne and Bojan Radulovic. The hosts are heading into the tie on the back of a 1-1 draw against Oulu in a Veikkausliiga fixture last weekend. Maribor, on the other hand, suffered a 2-0 defeat to Olimpija in a Slovenia National League match four days ago. Both sides were dumped out of their race for a place in the Champions League. Helsinki were thrashed 7-1 over two legs by Viktoria Plzen, while Maribor suffered a narrow 1-0 aggregate defeat against Moldovan champions Sheriff Tiraspol in July.
Maribor – Helsinki, 155 minut.
Začetek vijol’čne finske misije. Po pristanku v hotel, zvečer na trening.#MiSkupajEnoSmo pic.twitter.com/A3aeJuEUVA
— NK Maribor (@nkmaribor) August 10, 2022
Helsinki are currently sitting at the second spot in the Finland top division standings. Klubi failed to move to the top of the table as they shared the spoils against AC Oulu last Sunday. Serbia international Bojan Radulovic put the Helsinki based club in front with a neatly executed penalty, but substitute Michael Lopez equalised for the hosts in the 91st minute to share the points. Maribor, on the other hand, have lost their last four games across all competitions. The Slovenian outfit is currently sitting at the bottom of their domestic league table with three defeats from their opening four games. Their only win came against Gorica on July 23.
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HJK Helsinki forward Roope Riski is sidelined with a knee injury along with defender Valterri Moren. Radulovic, who has netted in the last two games, is expected to lead the line with Anthony Olusanya and Malik Abubakari in support. Hoskonen and Lingman are likely to pull the strings in the midfield. As for Maribor, defensive duo os Martin Milec and Max Watson are nursing knee injuries, while goalkeeper Azbe Jug is also sidelined with an injury. Baturina is expected to be the target-man up front with the likes of Vidakovic, Antolin and Brnic playing around him.
HJK Helsinki probable starting lineup: Hazard; Peltola, Tenho, Raitala; Browne, Hoskonen, Lingman, Murillo; Abubakarani, Olusanya, Radulovic
Maribor probable starting lineup: Bergsen; Zinc, Mitrovic, Watson, Sikosek; Repas, Vidakovic; Vipotnik, Antolin, Brnic; Baturina
The Europa League qualification match between HJK Helsinki and Maribor will take place at Sonera stadium on Thursday at 9:30 pm IST.
| HJK Helsinki vs Maribor | Key details |
| Date | August 11 |
| Venue | Sonera Stadium |
| Kickoff time in Finland | 7:00 pm |
| Kickoff time in Solvenia | 6:00 pm |
The live coverage of the match is available on SportKlub network and VeikkausTV.
