In the world of international football, the Veikkausliiga is by far one of the most underrated national leagues.
The Veikkausliiga is the elite league in the Finnish football scene. It was first established in 1990 and has grown from strength to strength, producing some of the finest sporting talent the country has ever seen.
Each year, 12teams compete to establish themselves as the champions for that year, with winning bringing the possibility of qualifying for the champion’s league. The Veikkausliiga runs between April and October each year, with teams getting the chance to play each other a total of three times. The team with the best record at the end of the season will be crowned that year’s Veikkausliigachampions, while the second, third and fourth place teams will qualify for the Europa League. The team finishing at the bottom of the league will have to fight to avoid relegation.
Although it is one of the more obscure European leagues, the Veikkausliiga has nevertheless managed to build up somewhat of a cult reputation among European sporting fans. And each year, millions of sports fans across the globe tune in to catch the excitement of the Veikkausliigaeveryweek.
For sports betting fans in particular, the Veikkausliiga is a particularly exciting league to follow. As a relatively underrated sports league compared to some of the other, larger European groups, you can often take advantage of some really favorable odds.
But with all that said, whichteams are looking particularly strong in the Veikkausliiga this year, and who looks like they might secure a top ranking in the championship?
Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi, more commonly known as HJK Helsinki or just HJK, are by far the kings of Finnish football. Having earned the title of Finnish football champions just shy of 30times in their 112-year history, HJK have a long history of success behind them. Having been crowned Veikkausliiga Champions in the past two seasons, it is only natural that many are eyeing them as potential champions in the 2021 season.
Since the Veikkausliiga was established in 1990, HJK have won the championship crown more times than any other Finnish team. This has also translated into a reasonable degree of success in European football competitions, with HJK being the only Finnish team to qualify for the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. Their most notable success came in the 2014-15 season, when they managed to finish third in their group.
With this long history of success in mind, HJK look set for another season of success in the 2021-22 Veikkausliiga Championship.
Founded in 1919, IFK Mariehamn are a promising football club based in Mariehamn, situated just off the southwest coast of Finland.
Although they were a relatively minor fixture on the Finnish football scene for much of their playing history, IFK Mariehamn have gone from strength to strengthsince securing promotion to the Veikkausliiga in 2005.
From 2012 onward, in particular, they managed to establish themselves as one of the strongest contenders for a top finishing position. In 2015, they won the Finnish Cup for the first time, which was followed in 2016 by their first and only league championship win.
Since then, IFK Mariehamn have been a promising, if sometimes underwhelming team in the Veikkausliiga. They finished in fifthposition in 2017 and 10thin 2018. Despite this, there is still a bit of buzz about IFK Mariehamn among Finnish football fans, and it is hoped that with some coaching and player tweaks, IFK Mariehamn will be able to capitalize on their potential.
Kuopion Palloseura or KuPS are a team playing out of the eastern Finnish city of Kuopio. Although relatively unknown in the top-tier leagues of European Championship football, KuPS are one of the mainstays of Finnish football.
They had a historically strong run of performances between 1949 and 1992, butfound themselves unable to replicate this success in the 1990s and early 2000s. Since then, however, KuPS have managed to build up some momentum and now regularly put in strong performances. Since 2008, KuPS have consistently ranked as one of the best teams in the Veikkausliiga.
Most notably, KuPS secured a championship win in the 2019 Veikkausliiga season. Although they looked set to replicate this success in the 2020 season, the deteriorating public health crisis saw the season postponed. On this basis coming into the 2021 season, KuPS are naturally a betting favorite, given they are the defending champions.