Finland v Northern Ireland background

Having qualified for the UEFA European Championship for the first time, Northern Ireland will seek to secure first place in Group F in Finland, who are looking to avenge a defeat in the sides' first UEFA EURO 2016 meeting.

• Northern Ireland reached their first ever UEFA EURO, and their first major tournament since the 1986 FIFA World Cup, with a 3-1 home win against Greece on 8 October. The same night, Finland's hopes were ended by a 1-1 draw in Romania.

• A point will guarantee Northern Ireland win Group F. Eliminated Finland are certain to finish fourth despite picking up seven points in their three fixtures under interim coach Markku Kanerva.

Previous meetings
• Kyle Lafferty struck twice in the space of six first-half minutes as Northern Ireland won the sides' Group F encounter in Belfast 2-1 on 29 March.

• Northern Ireland now have the edge over Finland in senior internationals: W4 D1 L3. They have lost their only two previous competitive games in Finland, but won on their most recent visit – a 2-1 friendly success in 2006.

Form guide
• Finland's 1-0 victory over the Faroe Islands in September ended a four-match wait for a competitive home win (D1 L3) during which they scored just once in Helsinki.

• Northern Ireland's Group F away record reads W3 D0 L1. Their sole away reverse in the section was a 2-0 defeat in Romania in November 2014.

Disciplinary
• The latest booking list is available here: http://www.uefa.org/disciplinary/disciplinary-cases/booking-lists/index.html.

Trivia and links
• Centre-forward Lafferty went into the October fixtures as one of four players to have scored seven goals in EURO qualifying; only Germany's Thomas Müller (8) and Poland's Robert Lewandowski (12) have contributed more.

• In 16 contests between the nations' clubs in UEFA competitions, the Northern Irish sides' record is W3 D6 L7.

• The Finns have also had the better of their eight encounters with Northern Ireland in UEFA age-group competitions: W5 D1 L2.