2018 Veikkausliiga

The 2018 Veikkausliiga was the eighty-eighth season of top-tier football in Finland. HJK were the defending champions.

Veikkausliiga
Season2018
ChampionsHJK
29th title
RelegatedTPS
PS Kemi
Champions LeagueHJK
Europa LeagueRoPS
KuPS
Inter Turku
Matches played198
Goals scored490 (2.47 per match)
Top goalscorerKlauss (21)
← 2017
2019 →

Fixtures for the 2018 season were announced on 17 January 2017. The season started on 7 April 2018 and ended on 27 October 2018.[1]

Teams

JJK were relegated to Ykkönen after finishing at the bottom of the 2017 season. Their place was taken by Ykkönen champions TPS.

HIFK as 11th-placed team lost their Veikkausliiga spot after losing to second-placed Ykkönen team FC Honka in a relegation/promotion playoff.

Stadia and locations
Location of teams in 2018 Veikkausliiga
Club Location Stadium Turf Capacity
FC Honka Espoo Tapiolan Urheilupuisto Natural 6,000
FC Inter Turku Veritas Stadion Natural 10,000
FC Lahti Lahti Lahden Stadion Natural 15,000
HJK Helsinki Telia 5G -areena Artificial 10,770
IFK Mariehamn Mariehamn Wiklöf Holding Arena Natural 4,000
Ilves Tampere Tammelan Stadion Natural 5,040
KuPS Kuopio Savon Sanomat Areena Artificial 5,000
PS Kemi Kemi Sauvosaaren Urheilupuisto Natural 4,500
RoPS Rovaniemi Rovaniemen keskuskenttä Artificial 4,000
SJK Seinäjoki OmaSP Stadion Artificial 6,000
TPS Turku Veritas Stadion Natural 10,000
VPS Vaasa Elisa Stadion Artificial 6,000

Personnel and kits
Club Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Sponsors
FC Honka Erik Jansson Tommi Saarinen Puma
FC Inter John Allen Timo Furuholm Nike Alfons Håkans
FC Lahti Toni Korkeakunnas Mikko Hauhia Umbro Halton
Lahti Energia
Prima Power
HJK Mika Lehkosuo Rafinha Adidas Apu
IFK Mariehamn Peter Lundberg Kristian Kojola Puma Hotell Arkipelag
Ilves Pontus Augustinsson Mika Hilander Adidas LähiTapiola
Pihlajalinna
Kiilto
KuPS Jani Honkavaara Petteri Pennanen Puma LähiTapiola
PS Kemi Julián Guevara Craft Various
RoPS Toni Koskela Antti Okkonen Puma
SJK Alexei Eremenko Sr. Mihkel Aksalu Adidas LähiTapiola
Prima Power
Elisa
TPS Tuomas Pekkarinen Sami Rähmönen Puma OP Turun Seutu
Silja Line
LähiTapiola
VPS Petri Vuorinen Sebastian Strandvall Puma Various

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Incoming manager Date of appointment Table
RoPS Juha Malinen Signed by Finland U19 31 October 2017 Toni Koskela 1 November 2017 [2] Pre-season
SJK Brian Page
Toni Lehtinen		 End of caretaker spell 31 October 2017 Tommi Kautonen 1 November 2017 [3]
SJK Tommi Kautonen Sacked 21 May 2018 Alexei Eremenko Sr. 22 May 2018 [4] 9th
FC Inter Fabrizio Piccareta Resigned 9 June 2018 John Allen 10 June 2018 [5] 8th
PS Kemi Jari Åhman Sacked 30 June 2018 David Hannah 1 July 2018 [6] 12th

    League table
    Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
    1 HJK (C) 33 24 6 3 61 19 +42 78 Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round[lower-alpha 1]
    2 RoPS 33 18 8 7 42 25 +17 62 Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round[lower-alpha 2]
    3 KuPS 33 17 7 9 56 37 +19 58
    4 Honka 33 15 13 5 51 33 +18 58
    5 Ilves 33 14 7 12 45 41 +4 49
    6 VPS 33 10 11 12 37 43 −6 41
    7 Inter Turku 33 10 10 13 37 44 −7 40 Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round[lower-alpha 2]
    8 Lahti 33 9 13 11 30 38 −8 40
    9 SJK 33 8 8 17 28 37 −9 32
    10 IFK Mariehamn 33 8 7 18 37 59 −22 31
    11 TPS (R) 33 7 8 18 37 55 −18 29 Qualification for the relegation play-offs
    12 PS Kemi Kings (R) 33 6 6 21 29 59 −30 24 Relegation to the Ykkönen
    Source: Veikkausliiga (in Finnish), Soccerway
    Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head away goals scored; 7) Play-off
    (Note: Play-off is only played if need to decide champion, teams for relegation or UEFA competition and will be played on a neutral ground).
    (C) Champion; (R) Relegated.
    Notes:
    1. HJK qualified for the Champions League first qualifying round
    2. Inter Turku qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round by winning the 2017-18 Finnish Cup

    Results

    Each team plays three times against every other team, either twice at home and once away or once at home and twice away, for a total of 33 matches played each.

    Season statistics

    Top scorers
    As of match played 27 October 2018
    Rank Player Club Goals
    1 Klauss HJK 21
    2 Rasmus Karjalainen KuPS 17
    3 Macoumba Kandji Honka 16
    4 Borjas Martín Honka 12
    Petteri Pennanen KuPS
    6 Aleksei Kangaskolkka IFK Mariehamn 10
    Sebastian Strandvall VPS
    8 Timo Furuholm Inter Turku 9
    Marius Noubissi Ilves
    10 Mika Ääritalo TPS 8
    Benjamin Källman Inter Turku
    Lassi Lappalainen RoPS

    References
    1. "Veikkausliigan otteluohjelma 2018 julkaistu". www.veikkausliiga.com. 17 January 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
    2. "Juha Malinen siirtyy Suomen U21 poikamaajoukkueen päävalmentajaksi". Rovaniemen Palloseura (in Finnish). Rovaniemen Palloseura. 16 October 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
    3. "Tommi Kautonen SJK:n päävalmentaja kaudesta 2018". SJK (in Finnish). SJK. 16 October 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
    4. "Alexei Eremenko sr. korvaa Tommi Kautosen". SJK (in Finnish). SJK. 22 May 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
    5. "Tiedote: Fabrizio Piccareta jättää FC Interin". FC Inter (in Finnish). FC Inter. 10 June 2018. Archived from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
    6. "PS Kemi vapautti Jari Åhmanin tehtävistään – David Hannah uusi päävalmentaja". PS Kemi (in Finnish). PS Kemi. 30 June 2018. Archived from the original on 3 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
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