2011 was a season to remember for HJK. Not only did ‘Klubi' won their third consecutive title and the Finnish Cup (overall their 24th league championship and 11th cup victory), but they did this in a swashbuckling fashion. The Helsinki team finished the season with a 24-point lead to second-place Inter and scored a whopping 86 goals in 33 matches while conceding only 23.

It has been a highly eventful start to the autumn for HJK. First, maintaining their devastating form in the league, the Helsinki club all but secured the Veikkausliiga title already in August. Then, ‘Klubi' gave Schalke a proper run for their money in the Europa League play-offs, beating the Germans 2-0 at home until imploding in the second half of the away leg as the hosts ran rampage with a 6-1 victory.

It was a night to remember at the Sonera Stadium last Thursday as HJK recorded a historical victory with a battling performance over the German giants Schalke in the Europa League play-off first leg. Teemu Pukki scored two fantastic goals to cap a magnificent team performance by the home side which put the Finns on the threshold of the group stages of the competition.

It is a tedious cliché that Finnish football is small-time and insignificant, but it is unfortunately also kinda true. Precarious finances and a disinterested public make the professional game here seem lower profile than, say, crown green bowls in the UK, or cricket in the United States.

That is a little stark.

HJK entertain Schalke tomorrow in the play-off round of the Europa League. Despite the undeniable fact that HJK are marching towards the Veikkausliiga title, the home tie against the German giants is an event that eclipses their whole season (unless they make it into the Europa League group phase of course).

There was a real sense of expectation in the air at the Sonera Stadium last Wednesday as HJK took on Dinamo Zagreb in the first leg of the Champions League third round. Few HJK fans may have pinned their hopes on actual UCL qualification, but many regarded the home team having at least a solid chance of beating the Croatian champions in the two-legged tie.

HJK made Champions League history trashing Bangor City 13-0 on aggregate in the second round of the competition. Both the second leg 10-0 victory at home and aggregate result are the biggest goal-fests ever celebrated in the Champions League. The result is a remarkable achievement in its own right, especially by a team from Finland, but, in truth, Bangor never represented a real test for HJK.

HJK entertain Inter tonight in one of the most highly anticipated matches of the current campaign. Inter, second in the table, chase the hosts by seven points with a game in hand, so if the Turku team manage a victory in Helsinki all the talk of handing the Veikkausliiga trophy to HJK may just turn out to be premature.

The surprise Veikkausliiga leaders from Jyväskylä take on the reigning champions at the Sonera Stadium at 6:30pm tonight. JJK remain unbeaten with sixteen points after six matches while HJK sit third with twelve points. Therefore, even with a limited grasp of arithmetic, the hosts are in for a match they need to win.

HJK host Jaro at the Sonera Stadium tonight at 6:30pm. The home side have recorded three straight victories (KuPS (H), Inter (H), VPS (A)) after the opening day defeat against TPS in Turku and sit second in the table, a point behind JJK. Jaro have also recovered from their dodgy start to the season, that saw them get beaten by biggest relegation favourites RoPS (A) and Haka (H), by taking all three points at TPS and drawing at home to KuPS.

Did you miss NFN's three-part Veikkausliiga preview? Don't worry, you can find it here, just click on the linka. Part I -Part II - Part III.

Nordic Football News has once again brought you the most definitive Veikkausliiga preview concievable. Now for the final part, our standings prediction.

And so we move to the not-so-business end of the table, the rear. It promises to be quite a battle, since so many clubs have been forced to cut costs amid financial turmoil.

You can find the rest of NFN's Veikkausliiga preview here, just click on the links. Part I – Part II – Part IV.

The mid-table more than any other part of the league is defined by the financial nuclear winter and different ways to approach it. Let the carnage ensue!

If you missed Part I of NFN's Veikkausliiga Preview, click here.

Struggling beneath the far reaches of the Veikkausliiga elite is of course those who strive to be main characters but can't quite pull it off.

It's time for the annual NFN Veikkausliiga preview. As with last year, a three part preview, starting with the title contenders. Want to guess who we think will win?

Enough has been said of the tumultuous Veikkausliiga offseason with match-fixing and money-taking allegations that I'll try to steer clear of it for the purposes of this preview.

So far in his managerial career, Mixu Paatelainen has employed a tested and true stage performers mentality: always leave on a high note. How will that affect his tenure with Finland?

Let's get one thing out of the way. Hiring Mixu Paatelainen was the only thing Palloliitto could do.