On Sunday we will play against the second team of Pirkkalan Jalkapalloklubi (PJK 2) in our home stadium at Pyynikki. This is the second one in the string of four home matches at Pyynikki, the last one being the last match of the season against JanPa on September 28. With promotion on the line in this final stretch of the season, this is a great time to be a Tampere United supporter.

Sunday’s opponent is still fighting in the other end of the table. With just six points between PJK and the relegation zone, they still need points to guarantee their spot in Vitonen next season. Those points have been in short supply lately, as in their past five matches they have managed only five points with a 4-10 goal differential. Looking further back, our previous meeting back at the beginning of June in Pirkkala was an easy 0-4 (0-2) away win for TamU-K.

Absences in the midfield continue to cause lineup problems for the coaches ahead of this match. Joonas Kupiainen is getting closer to his return, but is still out. In addition Juha Kumara and Lauri Heittola are unavailable. Kumara suffered a minor ankle injury in the last match and sits out this one, whereas Heittola is traveling abroad this weekend. This means that Timo Kauppinen, the hat trick man from the last match, will more than likely play in the midfield again.

News from Viiala from yesterday tell us that ViiPV once again took all three points. They have not lost a match since they got beaten by us in mid June at Kaukajärvi, and if

they keep this up, we need to keep winning too. Right now there’s only four points between us and them, but we have the PJK game in hand. It is going to be quite a race to the finish, especially considering that we will play away in Viiala in three week’s time.

In the mean while, see you at Pyynikki on Sunday! The match against PJK 2 kicks off at 6.30 pm.