Motherwell hammered HB Torshavn 5-0 on aggregate in the second qualifying round
HJK Helsinki were 8-0 winners over two legs against Coleraine
Recommended bet: Over 2.5 goals @ 8/11 with LiveScore Bet
After easing past Faroe Islands outfit HB Torshavn in the second qualifying round, Motherwell face a stiffer test against Finnish side HJK Helsinki as they eye further progress in the UEFA Conference League.
HJK dismantled Northern Irish side Coleraine in the second qualifying round, winning 8-0 overall and are in the thick of their domestic season.
Team news
Former Celtic and Norwich City striker Teemu Pukki, who scored twice in the 5-0 first-leg win over Coleraine in the last round, should return to the HJK side after being named on the bench for the 3-0 defeat against SJK on Monday in the Finnish league.
Other key men for the hosts include Alexander Ring, Toivo Mero and on-loan Liverpool defender Amara Nallo.
Motherwell are set to be without injured trio Callum Hendry, Stephen O'Donnell and Paul McGinn.
Boss Alfred Johansson will likely stick with a similar side to the one that he selected for Saturday's league win over Hibs, although the likes of Alex Lowry and Ewan Wilson could be recalled.
The latest HJK Helsinki vs Motherwell odds are available on LiveScore Bet
The stats
HJK Helsinki are fourth in the Finnish top-flight and have won four of their last five games.
Motherwell have won all three of their competitive games this summer and kicked off their Scottish Premiership campaign with a 2-1 victory at Hibs on Sunday.
HJK made the group stage of the Conference League in 2021-22 and 2023-24 but failed to progress, while they finished 30th and were eliminated in the league phase in 2024-25.
Motherwell have never made the group stage or league phase of any European competition.
The latest HJK Helsinki vs Motherwell odds are available on LiveScore Bet
Prediction
The 5-0 aggregate win over HB Torshavn in the previous round plus Sunday's 2-1 opening-weekend win at Hibs in the Premiership means Motherwell approach their trip to Helsinki high on confidence.
However, this will surely be a tougher test than the one posed by the Faroe Islands outfit, even if HJK, who are the record 33-time Finnish champions, are down in fourth place domestically, 11 points behind leaders KuPS going into the upcoming Championship Round games.
HJK proved they are dangerous opponents when outclassing Coleraine over two legs and there may end up not being too much between the sides in Helsinki.
In what looks a tricky first leg to call, backing at least three goals might be the safer play. There have been at least three goals in four of Motherwell's last five games, including in high-scoring summer friendlies against Genk and Aarhus.
HJK were beaten 3-0 by SJK on Monday, although they could have had one eye on this game during that defeat, and, like their Scottish visitors, there have been three or more goals in four of their last five matches.
Score prediction: HJK Helsinki 2-2 Motherwell
