Preview: Motherwell vs HJK Helsinki - prediction, team news, lineups

Motherwell welcome HJK Helsinki to Fir Park on Thursday for the second leg of their Conference League third qualifying round tie.

The two teams are locked level after the 1-1 first leg draw, leaving everything still to play for in this second leg.

Match preview

Motherwell had a superb 2025-26 season, finishing fourth in the Scottish Premiership under manager Jens Berthel Askou, having won 16, drawn 13 and lost only nine of their 38 fixtures.

Askou subsequently left at the end of the term to join Toulouse, with Alfred Johansson appointed as his successor.

Johansson initially endured a challenging pre-season, losing to both AGF and Genk, but Motherwell have gone on to experience an encouraging start to the first campaign under their new boss.

Johansson's side comfortably dispatched HB Torshavn 5-0 on aggregate in the Conference League second qualifying round, followed by a 2-1 win against Hibernian in their first league game.

Hibs' winning start did come to an end in their first leg clash with HJK Helsinki, drawing 1-1, and that was followed by a 0-0 draw with Falkirk on matchday two of the league campaign.

Now set for a return to Fir Park in the second leg against HJK Helsinki, Motherwell will be looking to get back to winning ways and progress one step closer to their first appearance in a European competition proper since the 2008-09 UEFA Cup.

HJK Helsinki, meanwhile, have a long history of European appearances, including qualifying for the league phase of the Conference League in two of the last three seasons.

Joonas Rantanen's side entered this year's qualifiers in the second round, where they recorded a commanding 8-0 aggregate victory over Coleraine, including a 3-0 away win.

Despite failing to follow that game up with a win, losing and drawing their next two matches - including the first leg against the Steelmen - HJK Helsinki got back to winning ways in their last outing.

HJK Helsinki secured a narrow 1-0 win against Oulu in the Veikkausliiga, ensuring they remain third in the standings and only four points behind second-placed Inter Turku.

Hoping to maintain their current momentum, as well as move one step closer to another league phase appearance, HJK Helsinki will be hoping to record just their second away win in European competition since 2022.

Motherwell Conference League form:

Motherwell form (all competitions):

HJK Helsinki Conference League form:

HJK Helsinki form (all competitions):

Team News

Motherwell will be without the availability of Jordan McGhee, Stephen O'Donnell, Callum Hendry, Apostolos Stamatelopoulos and Paul McGinn due to injury issues.

Despite failing to defeat Falkirk last time out, Motherwell produced a positive performance with plenty of encouraging signs going forward, and that may lead to Johansson naming an unchanged side.

Meanwhile, after ending their two-game winless run at the weekend, Rantanen could also look to name an unchanged starting team.

Mouhamed Gueye scored the winner in that game and should continue in midfield, while Teemu Pukki, who scored HJK Helsinki's goal against Motherwell in the first leg, should also remain in the starting lineup.

Motherwell possible starting lineup:

Paulsen; Sparrow, Knight-Lebel, Moormann, Longelo; Fadinger, Priestman; Vogt, Booth, Said; Maswanhise

HJK Helsinki possible starting lineup:

Markovic; Ylitolva, Tikkanen, Cissokho, Simojoki; Lingman, Gueye; Haarala, Kirilov, Cicale; Pukki

We say: Motherwell 2-1 HJK Helsinki

Another hard-fought encounter is expected as both teams fight to process to the playoff round, but with Motherwell boasting the home advantage in the all-important second leg, we are backing the Steelmen to win here.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.