FC Haka v Crusaders

Haka vs Crusaders Preview

The 1st legs of the 1st Qualifying Round of the Europa Conference League continue on Thursday evening and features this upcoming clash between Finnish hosts, Haka, and Irish counterparts, Crusaders, at Tehtaan kenttä with both teams harbouring ambitions of progressing through the qualifying rounds and into the group stage.

Haka qualified for this season's Europa Conference League after recording a 4-2 win on aggregate against VPS in the domestic Finland play-off final but despite that success at the end of last season, Haka's Veikkausliiga campaign this term has been nothing short of disastrous.

The hosts currently sit second from bottom of the Finnish top flight table and head into this important 1st leg tie on the back of a disappointing 10-match winless run in all competitions which includes six defeats, so it's fair to say that the straight win markets should be avoided at all costs where Haka are concerned!

However, there does look to be an opportunity in the goals market as six of Haka's last 10 games have resulted in both teams scoring and indeed, on home soil, nine of Haka's previous 10 games at home have also seen both teams hit the back of the net.

Crusaders earned their qualification into the preliminary rounds of this season's Europa Conference League after clinching the Irish Cup beating Ballymena United 4-0 in the final and following that domestic cup success, Crusaders then went on to record a 2-0 win against Larne in the Irish Super Cup at the start of this month.

The bigger picture shows Crusaders have lost just three out of their last 19 matches in all competitions and interestingly, all three defeats were inflicted upon them on home soil at their Seaview ground.

Similar to Haka who are unbeaten in their last 10 games at home though, Crusaders have been tough to beat on their travels in recent times as the Irish visitors are unbeaten in their last nine outings on the road, winning four of these games while also scoring in seven of these nine away games as well.

Haka v Crusaders Verdict

Both Haka and Crusaders possess very limited exposure on the European stage with Crusaders having played only four ties at this level while Haka will be making their debut on Thursday evening.

Crusaders made their first foray into European football last season where they registered a 4-3 win on aggregate against Gibraltan side, Magpies, but were then dumped out of the competition by Basel, losing 3-1 on aggregate, but three of Crusaders' four ties at Europa Conference League level resulted in both teams scoring and this option looks the most favourable for this upcoming tie.

Therefore, our main bet will be Both Teams To Score Yes @ 1.80

Other side bets worth considering:

Draw @ 4.00

Correct score: 1-1 @ 8.50