Lahti vs FH Hafnarfjordur Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

It’s been a solid summer for football in Iceland already, after the country made the World Cup for the first time, and secured a point against Lionel Messi’s Argentina. Can they continue that momentum with their sides entering the Champions League and Europa League qualifiers this week? FH are hoping for Europa League success after a mixed campaign in the Urvalsdeild, which has left them struggling to secure a spot in Europe for next summer. However, they can take a step towards this season’s group stage, with a win at Lahti on Thursday night.

The hosts are sitting sixth in Finland’s top flight, after a mixed campaign all round. They haven’t been that special at home this term, and have little momentum ahead of a return to European football. They crashed out to Elfsborg after a 5-0 defeat the last time they were in this competition, and it’s nine years since they last progressed past the first round of qualifying in the Europa League. Will they change that long wait with a result against FH on Thursday?

The visitors were close to the group stage in last season’s competition, losing in the play-off round to Portugal’s Sporting Braga. They went on to have a strong domestic campaign too, so FH can be pretty happy with their history in Europe ahead of this clash. They have a much more straightforward clash this week, as they prepare to take on a side who have lost back to back games ahead of their return to Europe.

The visitors may have slumped to fourth in their domestic league, but they come in to this game on the back of a defeat. Their main concern is going to be their defensive issues, which have seen them concede six times in their last three league games. While Lahti are in mixed form in their own league, they’ve scored in 13 of their last 14 home matches. They’ve also got an unbeaten record in home Europa League ties, scoring in every single one. Can that record continue this week?

We think it can, with FH seeing both teams score in their last four Europa League matches. They’ve seen BTTS land in 75% of their league games this season, and we expect that form to carry on for the visitors, who have the disadvantage of a long trip over to Finland. We expect both teams to score here, while we’re also backing Lahti to keep hold of their unbeaten record at home in this competition, as we’re backing a 1-1 draw, which would leave the tie close ahead of next week’s second leg.