Tuesday 15/07/2014, 21:00, Champions League Qualifiers, Rabotniki vs Helsinki

Rabotniki vs Helsinki Preview

Macedonian football has grown a lot over the last couple of years and the national team was on the verge of qualifying for the World Cup 2014. Even though they missed the objective, they deserve all the praise and now local clubs aim for a similar performance when they play in the Champions League Qualifiers. Rabotniki is just a couple of games away from reaching the groups phase, but right from the start they are pit against a better ranked opponent.

Rabotniki vs Helsinki Odds

At 10Bet

Rabotniki 3.20, Draw 3.50, Helsinki 2.00

Rabotniki vs Helsinki Tips

Rabotniki won the domestic championship even though they lost in the final round to runners up Turnovo, a team that will be playing in the Europa League qualifiers. Competition is intense in the Macedonian league and that's why it is uncertain whether the reigning champions will secure another trophy in 2015.

The bottom line is that they need to make the most of this opportunity of playing in the Champions League Qualifiers. The first step is to win against HJK Helsinki, a team that played many times in the preliminary rounds of the most important European competition, without much success.
Helsinki rode a nice winning streak but recently had a hard time winning consecutive games, despite the fact that their defenses have been bolstered.

Last season they made the most of home pitch advantage to accumulate many of the point in front of their fans, but scored few goals on the road. Keeping clean sheets has never been a problem for HJK, at least when playing against teams from the domestic league.

Rabotniki will be without Manevski, their most prolific striker in 2013-2014 as he was traded to a team in Thailand. This is why manager Angelovski will need to tweak the starting formation to accommodate Fidanovski who is expected to pair up with Ilijoski. The latter has already scored 8 goals in his 10 games.

Key Facts

• Velkoski was the second most effective goal scorer last season and the midfielder will be on the pitch tonight when Rabotniki takes on HJK
• The Finnish side hasn't lost a match in the last 15 games, but all of them were played against teams from the national championship

Rabotniki vs Helsinki Prediction

The visitors are credited with the first chance to win but even odds for a Finnish win on the road are simply too low to be worth considering. In fact, punters should do the exact opposite and back the hosts to win or draw at odds of 1.75, a very likely results for the first leg of the Champions League Qualifiers.

Bet: Rabotniki or Draw @ 1.75 with 10Bet