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Finland will host Northern Ireland at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium on Friday in another round of the 2024 European Championship qualifiers.
The home side enjoyed a strong start to their qualification campaign but lost form midway through and are out of the running for automatic advancement to the final tournament. They were beaten 2-1 by Kazakhstan in their last game taking the lead in the first half before their opponents scored twice in the final 15 minutes of the game to snatch all three points.
Finland sit fourth in their group with 12 points picked up so far. They will be looking to return to winning ways in front of their home fans this weekend as they gear up for the playoffs.
Northern Ireland, meanwhile, have failed to impress in the qualifiers so far. They were beaten 1-0 by Slovenia in their last match, falling behind to a free-kick just five minutes after kickoff and failing to find their way back into the game as they recorded back-to-back defeats against Fantje.
The visitors sit fifth in Group H with just six points from eight games and will be looking to add to that tally come Friday.
Finland vs Northern Ireland Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- There have been 10 meetings between Finland and Northern Ireland. Both sides have won four games apiece while their other four meetings have ended in draws.
- The hosts picked up a 1-0 win in the last meeting between the two teams, ending a four-game winless run in this fixture.
- The visitors are without a clean sheet in their last five games in this fixture.
- Northern Ireland are the second-lowest-scoring side in Group H so far with a goal tally of seven.
- Huuhkajat were ranked 62nd in the latest FIFA rankings and now sit 13 places above their weekend opponents.
Finland vs Northern Ireland Prediction
Finland are on a three-game losing streak after winning their four games prior. They have lost their last two games on home soil and will be desperate to end that streak when they play this weekend.
Northern Ireland have lost six of their last seven matches and have won just three of their last 15 games across all competitions. They have lost their last three away matches and could see defeat here as well.
Prediction: Finland 2-1 Northern Ireland
Finland vs Northern Ireland Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Finland to win
Tip 2 - Both teams to score: YES (Both sides have found the back of the net in four of their last five matchups)
Tip 3 - Northern Ireland to concede first: YES (The visitors have conceded the first goal in six of their last seven matches)
