A league preview: "Žalgiris" will seek revenge in Širvintos.

2024-05-31 11:06 © Elvio Žaldario

Before the break, the teams will play five 16th round matches.

Alytus DFK "Dainava" - Kauno district "Hegelmann". May 31, 19:00 Alytus, Alytus city stadium. Previous matches: 1:0.

For the first time this year, the Dainava team will play at home in front of their fans.

After a very dull match against Marijampolė "Sūduva", the Alytus team rehabilitated well in Gargždai, playing the best and most productive game of the season. However, one of the best players from that game, speedy winger Chibuike Nwosu, is suspended. This victory allowed them to rise to the 5th place, and with favorable circumstances, they might even climb to the 4th position. In the upcoming rounds, Sergejus Kuznecovas' team will face tough opponents, but three of the next matches will be in Alytus.

The blue and white team had a very solid month of May - they did not suffer any losses playing against strong opponents and climbed to the 2nd place with 26 points. However, "Hegelmann" scattered points in the second half of the first round and now seeks revenge in the Dzūkija capital. On Tuesday, the Kauno district club had trouble in Plungė in the "FPRO LFF Cup" quarterfinals, so coach Andrius Skerla made necessary rotations. On Friday, there will be fewer experiments, perhaps new team signing Felipe Brisola will make his debut.

Marijampolė Sūduva - Gargždai Banga. June 1, 17:00 Marijampolė, Marijampolė football arena stadium. Previous matches: 0:0.

The teams meet for the second time after their previous losses.

Marijampolė's team is eagerly awaiting the break to heal injuries and have returning players join the ranks. The absence of three suspended players - Ivan Zotko, Maksym Pyrogov, and Linas Zingertas - does not provide positivity. Sūduva has 16 points at home and ranks eighth, so considering the extent of the losses, we can expect cautious and scrappy football. A draw would not be the worst result for Marijampolė, although they only won at home once - on March 13.

Banga suffered an unexpected and crushing defeat last week and missed the opportunity to solidify their position in the top four. The team led by Davido Afonso has 19 points and is in 6th place - a win would allow them to return to the top five, while a loss could drop them to 8th place. After almost a month's break, Benas Šatkus returned to the squad, but the team was without their main goalkeeper Mantas Bertašius, and Vilius Piliukaitis is suspended. Banga remains one of the best away teams - they have not lost in eight matches.

Panevėžys - FA Šiauliai. June 1, 19:00 Panevėžys, "Aukštaitijos" stadium. Previous matches: 1:1.

Panevėžys will face the new head coach Stijn Vreven.

The defending champions dropped to the last place after drawing with Kauno Žalgiris and the competitors' victory, having only 12 points, 2 wins, and 7 goals scored. Panevėžys creates opportunities in attack but lacks better execution, although defender Lucas de Vega is showing better form. S. Vreven will not be able to work with the optimal lineup - Vytautas Černiauskas, Ariagner Smith, and Kwadwo Asamoah will be preparing for the return during the break.

TOPsport A lyga is still waiting for the second consecutive victory. FA Šiauliai has lost as many matches as in the previous season and after 15 games, they have 17 points. However, they are only three points behind the 4th placed Kauno Žalgiris. Head coach Mindaugas Čepas can work with Martynas Dapkus, who returned after more than two months, but their top scorer from the last match against Vilnius Žalgiris, Davis Ikauniekas, did not finish the game.

Vilnius district "TransINVEST" - Vilnius "Žalgiris". June 2, 16:00 Širvintos, Širvintos city stadium. Previous matches: 0:2.

The surprising exit from the cup competition will motivate Žalgiris to seek revenge.

Coach Aurimas Tamaliūnas and his team enjoyed two unexpected victories. TransINVEST team managed to climb from the last place and eliminated a future opponent in the FPRO LFF Cup. The debutants who maintained a high pace on Thursday will face a highly motivated opponent, but the team has strengthened in recent weeks. Former Žalgiris player Gustas Jarusevičius has not played for over a month, and Japanese player Misaki Sato is suspended.

Žalgiris celebrated two minimal victories after three draws in the Lithuanian Championship and escaped from Telšiai Džiugas. The only team not far behind in May is the Hegelmann club, trailing by 8 points. Vladimirs Čeburins' team has fallen in the cup quarterfinals for the second year in a row and will immediately face the opponent that eliminated them. Despite the efforts of Benas Traore and Nikola Petkovičius, the team's scoring has decreased. A failure to win on Sunday would be a huge surprise for the champions.

Telšiai Džiugas - Kauno Žalgiris. June 2, 18:25 Telšiai, Telšiai central stadium. Previous matches: 0:3.

As usual, Sunday evening matches can be watched on LRT Plius channel.

A heavily shorthanded Telšiai club struggled against Hegelmann players and lost their important defender Dejan Trajkovski. All of this was reflected in the cup matches, where at the end of the game, Vykintas Gaudiešius' missed penalty saved them from extra time against FKS Ukmergė from the second league. Coach Andrius Lipskis can be happy that the young players who play important minutes have not lost their edge, but fighting for a victory in front of their fans will not be easy.

The Kaunas team has only managed to win two out of the last seven matches in the TOPsport A lyga, although they faced last season's top teams. In the middle of the week, Kauno Žalgiris fulfilled a formality and easily defeated the lower league team Prienai Nemunas - then they again celebrated with a goal in the championship, where Filipas Dangubičius continues to struggle. Maxime Spano Rahou and Seth Sincere have returned to the squad, but Gratas Sirgėdas, who shone in the first round match, is still recovering from an injury.