ABERDEEN'S season looked to be on the verge of unravelling at the start of their Europa Conference League campaign but they head into their second group game with HJK Helsinki in high spirits after a stunning turnaround in fortunes.
Most people, our man Mark included, feared the worst for Barry Robson's side ahead of their opener with Eintracht Frankfurt, with Aberdeen's only win before then coming against Stirling Albion in the League Cup.
But the Dons put up a battling display in Germany and were a little unfortunate to lose 2-1, with the confidence gained from that performance then sparking a domestic resugrgence.
Back-to-back wins over Ross County in league and cup were followed by a shock 3-1 triumph at Ibrox on Saturday, with that result leading to Rangers parting ways with boss Michael Beale.
That victory in Glasgow will have sent belief soaring through Robson's squad and it's now crunch time for their hopes of progressing in Europe. The visit of HJK Helsinki is followed by another home game with Greek side PAOK and you suspect Aberdeen will need two wins to stand any chance of qualifying.
When the draw was made, the meetings with HJK looked like Aberdeen's best chance of getting some victories on the board but the Finns are no mugs and stand on the verge of clinching their domestic title.
Helsinki beat Romanian side Farul Constanta to book their place in the group stage, having run Molde and Qarabag close in qualifiers for the Champions League and Europa League.
Toni Korkeakunnas' side also made a talented PAOK team sweat in their group opener, eventually going down 3-2, so the Dons will need to be at the top of their game to spark their Europa Conference League campaign into life.
How the bookies view it
Aberdeen are odds-on favourites with home advantage but you can back them at 15/16 with VBet. HJK Helsinki's best price is 13/4 with BetUK and that looks a bit overpriced while the draw pays 5/2 with most firms.
Head to head
These sides have never faced off before but Aberdeen have a perfect record against Finnish sides, winning both legs of a Europa League qualifier with RoPS four years ago. HJK Helsinki have taken on Scottish opposition twice, losing both games on aggregate to Celtic.
Players to watch
Jamie McGrath is a big threat from midfield for the Dons and his weekend strike at Ibrox made it two goals in three games. The Irish international is 11/4 at Paddy Power for another goal on the big stage.
Bojan Radulovic has been a goal machine for HJK Helsinki this season, netting 21 times in 31 games. The young Serb has four goals to his name already in European clashes this season and looks good value at 17/10 with William Hill for another here.
Anything else catch the eye?
Armchair fans will be hoping for a repeat of the last European game at Pittodrie as that Europa League play-off with BK Hacken was a thriller. The Dons lost 3-1 but it could have easily ended 5-5 with the match swinging from end to end. Going for over 2.5 goals and BTTS paid off for Mark that night so I'm going to go down a similar path.
Backing both teams to score pays just 4/6 here at William Hill while over 2.5 goals isn't much better at a best 8/11 with SpreadEx. Combing them in a bet builder with Bet365 will take you to evens.
Both teams will be going for the win so we could see a lot of corners. There's not a lot of prices out there at the moment but SkyBet have over 4.5 first-half corners at evens and that looks a good option.
This UEFA Europa League Conference match between Aberdeen and HJK Helsinki will be played on Oct 5, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Aberdeen vs HJK Helsinki prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
