Farul Constanta trade tackles with HJK in the first leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League playoffs on Thursday (August 25).
The hosts are coming off a 3-1 defeat at Rapid Bucuresti. Xian Emmers, Marco Dugandzic and Alexandru Ionita found the back of the net to inspire the win. .
HJK, meanwhile, claimed maximum points in a comeback 3-1 win at Inter Turku. Darren Smith put Turku ahead in the 15th minute, but Bojan Radulovic's hat-trick helped HJK take the win.
Farul booked their spot in the Conference League playoffs with a 5-0 aggregate win over Flora in the third qualifying round. A 3-0 home win was followed by a 2-0 win in Estonia.
HJK, meanwhile, dropped down to the Conference League following their elimination from the Europa League. They fell to a 4-2 aggregate defeat to Qarabag, suffering 2-1 losses in both legs.
HJK's continental campaign this season has not gone to plan, having started their sojourn in the Champions League. The Finnish champions have been inconsistent in recent weeks and come into this tie as the underdogs.
Farul, for their part, have been flying high in home games, winning five of their last five games in front of their fans.
Games involving the two sides tend to be high-scoring affairs, and the trend should continue. Expect Farul to claim a comfortable win with goals at both ends.
Prediction: Farul 3-1 HJK
Tip 1 - Farul to win
Tip 2 - Both teams to score
Tip 3 - Over 2.5 goals
Tip 4 - Highest scoring half: Second half
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