Northern Ireland face Finland at Windsor Park, which could turn in to being an exhilarating match. Scheduled for Sunday, it is one of the matches in the second round of the qualifiers for the European Championship. Northern Ireland and Finland settled for a point in a 1-1 draw, when last faced with each other. The best betting odds on a another draw at full-time with the bookies are at 11/5.
Concluding the first round of matches in this group, Northern Ireland have positioned themselves as number two on three points. Meanwhile, Finland earned zero points, placing them as number five. Ahead of their upcoming fixture on Sunday, Northern Ireland find themselves as number 59 in the FIFA world ranking. Finland enter the match as number 56.
Judging by the prices from the bookies we have a fairly even match on our hands when Northern Ireland go up against Finland. Claiming three points in such a tough encounter would go a long way in qualifying for the next stage.
Northern Ireland will never make it out of this group, but could perhaps be capable of stealing the odd point which for them would be considered a success. It may be unreasonable to hope for Finland to finish first in their group, but it would be surprising if they fail to qualify for the upcoming tournament from the group.
Northern Ireland vs Finland Prediction
Northern Ireland Form
Northern Ireland added two wins to their account in their three most recent outings, as they beat Kosovo by 2-1. Their next match left them empty-handed in a 3-1 defeat against Greece, followed up by a 0-2 win against San Marino. Northern Ireland managed to win two of their past six internationals. In the remaining four, they drew two and lost two, as they scored five and conceded five goals.
Finland Form
Finland lost their previous three matches by 2-0 against Sweden, 0-1 against Estonia and 3-1 against Denmark. Only once did Finland celebrate a win in their last six internationals, in which they also drew two and lost three. They were outscored by ten goals to seven.
While it might not be a big surprise to see Finland steal a good result at Windsor Park, form nevertheless looks better for Northern Ireland. They get the nod on Sunday.
Finland failed to conquer a win in any of their previous five contests.
Northern Ireland vs Finland Stats
- In 21 of the last 23 Northern Ireland home matches the sum of goals was under 3.5
- Northern Ireland have not won 13 of the last 15 home matches
- In 6 of the last 8 Northern Ireland home matches the sum of goals was under 1.5
- In the last 4 matches in a row Northern Ireland played, both teams scored
- In the last 4 Northern Ireland matches the sum of goals was over 2.5
- In 22 of the last 24 Finland matches the sum of goals was under 3.5
- In 12 of the last 13 Finland matches the sum of goals was under 2.5
- In 9 of the last 11 Finland away matches the sum of goals was under 2.5
- Finland have not won 11 of the last 13 matches
- In 9 of the last 11 Finland away matches the sum of goals was under 3.5
Northern Ireland vs Finland Team News
Northern Ireland have an almost full squad available against Finland at Windsor Park with only one player possibly missing.
Jonny Evans sit this one out for Northern Ireland due to an injury.
Northern Ireland vs Finland H2H
The last time the two nations squared up against each other both came away unscathed following a 1-1 draw. Northern Ireland have a 40% win rate in the against Finland, who won one of these matches. The total record reads 2-2-1, which is worth keeping in mind before you make a choice for your next accumulator, depending on your betting strategy.
Northern Ireland vs Finland Results
In four of the previous five matches between Northern Ireland and Finland both teams scored.
Northern Ireland vs Finland Betting Tips
Dion Charles is the most prolific European Championship scorer for the home team, with two goals recently. Northern Ireland will undoubtedly rely on him to shine once again in their upcoming match. Meanwhile, Finland will be looking to Oliver Antman, hoping he can add to his current total of three European Championship goals in his latest game.
Northern Ireland won two of the previous 10 home matches across all tournaments, while drawing five and losing three as well. Finland won three from a possible 10 away from home, as they also drew two and lost five in this run. Finland racked up two win from their last 10 possible away games without conceding a goal.
Over 2.5 goals happened three times in the past five encounters between Northern Ireland and Finland, with Northern Ireland scoring 1.6 goals on average per game. Finland averaged 1.4 goals, while both teams scored four times. Over 2.5 goals happened in five of Northern Ireland’s last ten matches across all tournaments. They pulled off an average of 1.2 goals during this run. Over 2.5 goals happened in two of the last ten outings for Finland, who managed to score one time in those matches.
