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HJK play host to Real Betis at the Sonera Stadium in the opening round of the Europa League on Thursday.
Both sides have been drawn into Group C of the competition and will face AS Roma and Ludogorets in their subsequent two games.
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HJK maintained their sensational run of results as they claimed a hard-earned 2-1 win over HIFK in the Finish top-flight on Monday.
They are currently unbeaten in their last nine games across all competitions, dating back to July’s 4-0 loss against Viktoria Plzen.
HJK have now turned their attention to the Europa League, where they went unbeaten in their four qualifying games and saw off Silkeborg 2-1 on aggregate in the playoff round.
Meanwhile, Real Betis suffered their first La Liga defeat of the season as they were beaten 2-1 by Real Madrid last weekend.
Prior to that, Manuel Pelegrini's side were on a four-game winning streak, including three wins from their opening three games of the 2022-23 La Liga campaign.
Real Betis head into Wednesday on a run of one win from their last six away games across all competitions, losing three and claiming two draws since May.
HJK vs Real Betis Head-To-Head
This will be the first-ever meeting between Fiorentina and Rigas, who will both be looking to get their Conference League campaign underway with a win.
HJK Form Guide: W-W-D-W-W
Real Betis Form Guide: L-W-W-W-W
HJK vs Real Betis Team News
HJK
Manuel Martic, Roope Riski and Valtteri Moren are all recuperating from injuries and will sit out Thursday’s game.
Injured: Manuel Martic, Roope Riski, Valtteri Moren
Suspended: None
Real Betis
Nabil Fekir was forced off with an 11th-minute injury and is a major doubt for the Spanish outfit.
Injured: Nabil Fekir
Suspended: None
HJK vs Real Betis Predicted XI
HJK Predicted XI (3-4-3): Conor Hazard; Joona Toivio, Paulus Arajuuri, Matti Peltola; Casper Terho, Përparim Hetemaj, Lucas Lingman, Murilo; Johannes Yli-Kokko, Bojan Radulović, Malik Abubakari
Real Betis Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Rui Silva; Youssouf Sabaly, Luiz Felipe, Edgar González, Álex Moreno; Guido Rodríguez, Andrés Guardado; Sergio Canales, Luiz Henrique, Juanmi; Borja Iglesias
HJK vs Real Betis Prediction
Real Betis suffered their first competitive defeat since May last weekend and will be looking to quickly find their feet. Pellegrini’s side head into Thursday with a significantly superior and more experienced crop of players and we predict they will put that to good use and claim all three points.
Prediction: HJK 0-2 Real Betis
