Yle Sporten broadcasts: Heavy title favorite HJK against offensive question mark Honka – here are three questions before the hot league premiere

For 157 days, league football has stood still. Tonight it’s back – and Yle offers a gem straight away. HJK against Honka is the battle between the two strongest teams on paper. Here are three questions before the premiere.

HJK–Honka

Kick off: At 18.15 on TV2 and at the Arena.
Commentator: Mats Ahlnäs.

1. Will width be HJK’s trump card again?

HJK was, is and remains the benchmark in Finnish men’s football. The Helsinki club has taken the league title for the past three years – and there is really nothing to suggest that there will be a raging battle for gold in 2023.

The champion team is relatively untouched, looks at least as strong as last year and bathes almost in abundance until the tempo of the match is increased with the qualifying game in Europe. The other top-rated teams have in turn released key players and are working with significantly less resources to retool.

HJK ended the pre-season by winning the league cup, and if you’re looking for nerves for tonight’s league start, the final effort against AC Oulu pumped some doubt into HJK’s spring form.

It was slow, it was odd and (once again) it was the width that mattered. Coach Toni Koskela has the privilege of being able to replace national team players and took advantage of it.

Lucas Lingman’s entry was a source of joy. Lingman has been injured this winter, but just in time for the premiere, the Helsingborgslånet is available to control the offensive game again.

2. After the record sales: who scores in Honka?

Honka’s stated goal is clear: European place, many own products in the team and player sales.

On that point, it must be said that Honka’s sporting management has succeeded. After last year’s bronze, there will be Conference League qualifiers this summer and Honka starts the season as a clear medal candidate – but it is also clearly weakened.

Last year’s assist king Rui Modesto was sold early to AIK and just before the premiere came the news that the shooting king Agon Sadiku is leaving to play in Rosenborg.

According to Norwegian TV2 paid Rosenborg over 600,000 euros for Sadiku. Honka’s manager Hexi Arteva talks about that The Espoo club has raked in more money than ever, but it also comes with a price. Who will score the goals in Honka?

– We must find at least one striker quickly. We have come up with a name and there are also other options. I believe we have a competitive name, says sports chef Petri Vuorinen.

The offense is still a clear question mark as the league gets under way, but the rest of the 2022 backbone is intact: the strong center back pair of Ville Koski and Aldayr Hernandez, the goalkeeper Maksim Rudakov and above all the midfield trio of Kevin Jansen, Jerry Voutilainen and Florian Krebs.

Honka are building momentum from a solid starting point, but do they have the players to be the league’s most entertaining team? Last year, coach Vesa Vasara converted to a faster football, and it really paid off.

3. The current HJK coach against the upcoming one?

HJK’s biggest challenge during the season is to keep all players satisfied and happy. It is Toni Koskela’s most difficult assignment – and given the scathing HS reporting last fall about dissatisfaction among players, Koskela is under scrutiny.

At the same time, his merits are impossible to argue against. Three golds and two group games in Europe is outstanding, and Koskela is open to a move abroad.

Malmö FF chose Henrik Rydström, but what does the crisis club IFK Göteborg do? Blue white are looking for a new coach and Koskela has been mentioned in the speculation.

It is a low-oddsman that Koskela moves at some stage. It could be this spring, this summer or next year – and then Vesa Vasara’s name will be linked with HJK. Vasara is the longest-serving coach at the same club as he now begins his seventh season at Honka.

Does Vasara start the season at their upcoming home ground?

Commentator’s tip: The gold train departs

It is usually even between the teams in local derbies – four wins for HJK and three for Honka, as well as three crosses in the last ten – but Honka rarely wins in Töölö. The last time it happened was in June 2019.

No change on that front tonight. 2–0 to the champion favorite HJK.