Former Aberdeen winger Topi Keskinen has tipped Motherwell as slight favourites for their Europa Conference League qualifier against HJK Helsinki. The Finnish international, who played for HJK from 2024 to 2025, believes the Steelmen's current form gives them an edge.
Keskinen's Assessment
"It looks to be quite an even game on paper. I would probably make Motherwell the slight favourites," Keskinen said. "They are in better form and are winning games."
He added: "Motherwell, they have changed a lot of their team from last season. They were excellent last year. I've been watching the results from Motherwell's games. They are still winning games and scoring goals despite all the changes at the club. They look to be in a really good place under their new manager."
Home Advantage for HJK
The former Pittodrie star warned that HJK need a result at home in Thursday's first leg at the Bolt Arena. "I would think that HJK will need to get a result at home. If they don't then you would have to back Motherwell," he said.
Keskinen highlighted the artificial surface as a potential advantage for HJK, noting: "Motherwell have played a few games on artificial surfaces, but it's never the same. In Europe that was a really big advantage for HJK."
He stressed the importance of a strong home showing: "HJK needs to go to Scotland with some to protect. HJK are normally stronger at home than away. I know they won in Northern Ireland but I would say Motherwell away would be a far tougher proposition."
Johansson's Impact
Alfred Johansson has taken over from Jens Berthel Askou and has enjoyed a strong start with three wins, including victories over Faroese side Havnar Boltfelag home and away and a win at Hibs in their Premiership opener. HJK, meanwhile, have been toiling domestically despite convincing wins over Coleraine in the previous round.
Keskinen acknowledged the transition at HJK: "They got two good results in the last round against Coleraine. These sort of games are normally a challenge for HJK but they won both games against the Northern Irish side quite convincingly. That will give them a lot of confidence going into this game. Although they did lose away to SJK in the league earlier this week."
He added: "If you play at HJK there is a pressure to win every game. It just hasn't happened for them in recent seasons, but the expectations are still there. There is also more of a buzz at the Bolt Arena when it comes to European games to the domestic games. These games are different for HJK."
Key Players
Keskinen pointed to midfielder Lucas Lingman and goalkeeper Jesse Ost as key survivors from his time at the club. "There's a few players who are still there," he said. "I've been following them quite a lot. There's Lucas Lingman, the midfielder. He plays all the time, basically. He was there when I was playing there. He's a really good player. The goalkeeper Jesse Ost was also there when I was at HJK. He is a good solid keeper."
He reflected on the club's rebuild: "Their team has changed quite a bit since I was there. When I signed there, we won the championship, but we had a really good team. I stayed there for half a season after that one and almost 60% of the players were gone. They've been trying to do some rebuild now, but it's not been working really well because there's been so much change to the club."
Previous Scottish Opposition
The last time HJK faced Scottish opposition was three seasons ago in the Europa Conference League group stages, when Keskinen played in two draws against Aberdeen, which helped him earn a move to Pittodrie.
He recalled: "The home game against Aberdeen we were disappointed with the point. We were leading 2-0 and it ended as a draw. We were happy when we got the draw away to Aberdeen. We scored first and that was a good result for us. Aberdeen had more shots and pressure, but we managed to get a point."
