HJK vs Maribor prediction, preview, team news and more | UEFA Europa League qualifiers 2022–23

HJK and Maribor will go head-to-head at the Sonera Stadium in the second leg of the third round of Europa League qualification fixtures on Thursday.

The Slovenian outfit will be looking to overturn their two-goal deficit after suffering a 2-0 defeat in last week’s reverse leg.

Sreča v nesreči ob poškodbah na derbiju...

Max Watson zaradi poškodbe notranje stranske kolenske vezi nekaj tednov izven igrišča, operativni poseg ne bo potreben. Vladan Vidaković nima zlomljenega nosu in potuje z moštvom v Helsinke.

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HJK were denied a fourth straight win in the Finish Veikkausliiga as they were held to a 1-1 draw by AC Oulu last Sunday.

They currently sit second in the league standings, level on 37 points with first-placed KuPS, who have a game in hand.

HJK have now turned their attention to the Europa League qualifiers, where they kicked off their campaign with a 2-0 first-leg victory over Maribor.

"Vsaka naslednja tekma pomeni novo priložnost, da se izvlečemo iz neprijetne situacije. Naj bo v Helsinkih naša prelomnica sezone, storili bomo vse, da bi nam uspelo."

Andraž Žinič verjame v vijol'čni preobrat. Na pot v sredo zjutraj.

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Maribor, meanwhile, continued to struggle in the Slovenian top-flight season as they fell to a 2-0 loss against Olimpija last time out.

They have now lost three of their opening four domestic games, with a 3-2 win over Gorica on July 23 being the only exception.

Maribor head into Thursday on a four-game losing streak across all competitions, scoring once and conceding seven goals in that time.

HJK vs Maribor Head-To-Head

This will be the second-ever meeting between HJK and Maribor, with their first encounter coming in last week’s reverse fixture, when the Finnish side claimed a 2-0 victory.

HJK Form Guide: D-W-W-L-W

Maribor Form Guide: L-L-L-L-W

HJK vs Maribor Team News

HJK

The home side will be without Manuel Martic, Roope Riski and Valtteri Moren, who are all recuperating from injuries.

Injured: Manuel Martic, Roope Riski, Valtteri Moren

Suspended: None

"Ko je težko, znamo stopiti skupaj. Smo v obdobju, ki ga je treba prestati in verjeti v to, kar počneš."

Športni direktor Marko Šuler o aktualnem stanju in iskanju rešitev za izhod iz krize.

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Maribor

Martin Milec, Max Watson, Azbe Jug and Aleks Pihler have all been ruled out through injuries and will sit out Thursday’s game.

Injured: Martin Milec, Max Watson, Azbe Jug, Aleks Pihler

Suspended: None

HJK vs Maribor Predicted XI

HJK Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Conor Hazard; Matti Peltola, Miro Tenho, Jukka Raitala; David Browne, Arttu Hoskonen, Santeri Väänänen, Lucas Lingman, Luis Murillo; Malik Abubakari, Anthony Olusanya

Maribor Predicted XI (3-5-2): Menno Bergsen; Andraž Žinič, Nemanja Mitrović, Max Watson, Gregor Sikošek; Jan Repas, Vladan Vidaković; Žan Vipotnik, Aljaž Antolin, Ivan Brnić; Roko Baturina

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HJK vs Maribor Prediction

HJK will be licking their lips as they welcome an out-of-sorts Maribor side who are on a four-game losing streak. We are backing the Finnish side to pick up where they dropped off last week and claim a second-leg victory in front of their home fans.

Prediction: HJK 2-0 Maribor