KuPS vs Ilves prediction 23.06.2026 | Veikkausliiga

After two consecutive league trophies, KuPS are one of the contenders for another. Miika Nuutinen's team had some issues this season, but they are still only two points behind the league leader, Inter Turku. After three games in a row without a victory, KuPS finally won 2-1 on the road against TPS in the most recent outing. The teams were pretty even throughout the match, but the guests' much better efficiency was enough for all three points.

KuPS had problems in the previous round, but the head coach, Miika Nuutinen, was pleased with the performance. He said, "We dug out the win, and that was the most important thing today. It certainly wasn't KuPS' most fluent performance, and we know we're capable of playing much better. But getting all three points from the third match of a congested week feels really good."

Brahima Magassa will again skip a Veikkausliiga match due to suspension, while Jerry Voutilainen, Samuel Pasanen, and Calvin Kabuye are injured.

Ilves are far from last season's level when they finished third and secured the Conference League spot. In the current campaign, the team from Tampere seems more like a mid-table team. However, Ilves improved recently, winning five of the last six matches across all competitions. In the previous game, they won 5-0 at home against Jaro. The hosts, already in the first half, scored four goals, and their victory never came into question. 

Ilves have a 14:7 goal difference in the last six matches. Also, they didn't concede in four of those six games. Even the head coach, Joni Lehtonen, recently talked about how confident they are after recent successes. Now, they will face one of the toughest challenges in Veikkausliiga, the game in Kuopio. 

Ilves have some problems with injuries too. They will be without Sebastian Suvanne, Lauri Ala-Myllymaki, and Sauli Vaisanen on Tuesday afternoon.