A League Announcement: A Tough Away Trip for the Leader

2024-05-22 15:02

From Friday to Sunday, five matches of the 15th round will be played in TOPsport A League.

Marijampolė's "Sūduva" - Vilnius region's "TransINVEST". On May 24, at 19:00 in Marijampolė, Marijampolė football arena stadium. Previous match: 2:0.

The championship debutants will seek revenge for the failure experienced in the first round.

In the last three matches, the residents of Marijampolė managed to eliminate in Alytus, so after a crucial victory, Dovydas Lastauskas' team has 16 points and ranks seventh. Winning at home on Friday would temporarily put them in the top five. Last week, "Sūduva" welcomed back players who returned to the squad, but the losses are still significant. Although the Marijampolė club will play at home, they will have to fight after a difficult match on Tuesday in the "FPRO LFF Cup," where 120 minutes were played in Šiauliai.

Meanwhile, the players of "TransINVEST" coached by Aurimas Tamaliūnas started training at the club's stadium - they will have to play a cup match next week. In recent weeks, the team's defense has not shone, but after more than two months break, Richard Šveikauskas returned to the squad. Kota Sakurai and Gustas Jarusevičius cannot help the team for a while. In attack, the players of "TransINVEST" often find arguments, however, only an improved defense can secure at least one point in Marijampolė.

Kaunas region's "Hegelmann" - Telšiai's "Džiugas". On May 25, at 16:00 in Akademija, President Valdas Adamkus VDU Sports Center. Previous match: 0:0.

On Saturday, the neighbors in the tournament table will also test their strength.

"Hegelmann," for the second round in a row, quite successfully overcame the period playing with the strongest fours of the previous season. However, Andrius Skerla's team often did not justify the favorite status, and this will be another opportunity to demonstrate stability. After the victory in Panevėžys, the blue and white team slightly moved away from the 4th place and with 26 points can rise to the 2nd position with a home win. To achieve that, A. Skerla has almost the optimal lineup, however, "Džiugas" has repeatedly managed to take points away from opponents.

In the last matches, "Džiugas" painfully missed a victory but still surprises - midway through the second round, they are in the first third and comfortably maintain that position. The only problems for the Žemaitians are related to the lineup - due to disqualifications, they will not be able to play Lukas Ankudinovas and Joaquim Domingosas in the upcoming match. Apart from long-term injuries, Bacary Sane and David Brazao did not play against Gargždai's "Banga." On Saturday, a lot may depend on the performance of attacking leader Nino Noordanus.

"Panevėžys" - "Kauno Žalgiris". On May 25, at 19:00 in Panevėžys, "Aukštaitijos" stadium. Previous match: 1:0.

In the capital of Aukštaitija, two teams that lost in the previous round will clash.

The farewell to the title-winning coach Gino Lettieri did not bring quick results - a painful loss was experienced at home. It is hard to believe, but "Panevėžys" still remains the team with the fewest goals scored and with the least number of victories. After Friday's clash in Marijampolė, the Panevėžys team could even drop to the last place. Linas Klimavičius and Markas Beneta returned to the squad a while ago, but the main goalkeeper Vytautas Černiauskas cannot play for a while, so Tomas Švedkauskas will start the match from the first minutes.

The leaders of the championship are visiting a rival who will play for the first time at the main city stadium in the Lithuanian championship this year. In several matches in Šiauliai, the Žalgiris team has won only once and cannot boast of good results in head-to-head matches. The "Žalgiris" secured a victory in the first round, however, now the attacking potential of the opponents will be slightly more menacing. In the previous match, Nikola Petkovičius did not play due to injury, but rarely played Nemanja Mihajlovičius took advantage of his chance.

Gargždai's "Banga" - Alytus DFK "Dainava". On May 26, at 17:00 in Gargždai, Gargždai city stadium. Previous match: 2:2.

On Sunday, the residents of Dainava will challenge the Gargždai team, who are in good form.

"Banga" was one of the first teams to secure a place in the quarterfinals of the "FPRO LFF Cup" - they easily defeated the II league participant Klaipėda Football School away. In the TOPsport A League, Gargždai have suffered only one loss in their last nine matches. With 19 points, David Afonso's team is fourth and has a favorable schedule to approach the top three. The Alytus team has not won in Gargždai in the Lithuanian championship since 2011, however, all series always come to an end eventually.

Alytus still does not shine in attack, but maintains a solid position in the middle of the tournament table. However, due to disqualification, an important central defender Glibas Gračiovas will not be able to play in Gargždai. If "Dainava" achieves a long-awaited victory at the opponent's stadium, they could significantly distance themselves from the bottom two teams. Coach Sergejus Kuznecovas is still working with Dmytro Mandrychenko in the attacking line - in the last seven matches, Alytus has scored only 2 goals.

FA "Šiauliai" - Vilnius "Žalgiris". On May 26, at 19:15 in Šiauliai, Šiauliai City Municipality Stadium. Previous match: 0:3.

An intriguing showdown from the Sun City will be broadcast on the LRT Plius channel.

FA "Šiauliai" celebrated two consecutive victories for the first time in 2024. However, the second victory came on Tuesday - then, after a penalty shootout in the cup competition, "Sūduva" was eliminated. Unfortunately, that match was marked by Kristupas Keršys' injury, the young central defender joined the other players in that position who fell from the lineup - Martynas Dapkūnas and Vytas Gašpuičius. A positive sign for FA "Šiauliai" has been the effectiveness of Nauris Petkevičius and the Latvian Davis Ikauniekas who ended a worse streak.

The championship leaders are visiting a rival who will play at the main stadium of the city for the first time this year. In several matches in Šiauliai on the natural grass, the Žalgiris team has only won once and cannot boast of good results in head-to-head matches. The secured victory for "Žalgiris" in the first round became an exception, however, now the potential of the attacking opponents will be a bit more threatening. In the previous match, Nikola Petkovičius did not play due to injury, however, Nemanja Mihajlovičius, who rarely plays, took advantage of his chance.