On Sunday, Vilnius 'Žalgiris' can secure the championship title.

2024-10-18 10:57 © E. Žaldario

From Friday to Sunday, five matches of the 33rd round will be played in the "TOPsport A league".

"Panevėžys" - Telšiai "Džiugas". On October 18, at 19:00. Panevėžys, "Aukštaitijos" stadium. Previous matches: 0:0, 3:3.

On Friday, an important clash between direct rivals will take place at the "Aukštaitijos" stadium.

The reigning champions, who have lost their title, have bounced back from the bottom two after a long break and currently sit seventh with 33 points. The Džiugas team, which is also at the bottom, has just one point less, but winning could allow them to rise further. The team from the capital of Aukštaitija will play their next three matches at home – a couple of victories would make them feel much safer before the final round. The starting eleven for "Panevėžys" has been stable lately and performing well in attack, although this year they have struggled to entertain their fans with goals at home.

"Džiugas" is burdened by a series of six consecutive losses in the "TOPsport A league", and moreover, their remaining schedule is quite challenging – they will only play in front of their fans once in the next five matches. In both of this season’s encounters, the Telšiai side was lucky, but later misfortunes followed in other confrontations. Head coach Andrius Lipskis used the national team break for a friendly match with "Riga", while the Panevėžys team had a longer respite. Due to suspension, they will be without defender Joaquim Domingas.

Vilnius district "TransINVEST" - Kaunas district "Hegelmann". On October 19, at 15:00. Širvintos, Širvintos city stadium. Previous matches: 3:2, 1:2.

The teams exchanged victories in their encounters this season.

Before the national team break, "TransINVEST" shared points with Marijampolė "Sūduva" and slightly boosted their stock in the league table. Marius Stankevičius' team is in eighth place with 33 points but faces a tough schedule for the remaining five matches. A chance to improve their situation arises on Saturday when a victory could set up a theoretical clash with the already crowned champions, Vilnius "Žalgiris", in the next round. The home-playing "TransINVEST" team is one of the league's highest-scoring teams, sitting fourth with 18 goals scored.

"Hegelmann" bounced back from a painful defeat in the "FPRO LFF Cup" final – a home victory over "Džiugas" brought them closer to silver and keeps them in the gold race. If the blue-whites lose in Širvintos and "Žalgiris" wins in Alytus, the Vilnius team would collect the trophy for the 11th time. On the other hand, if "Hegelmann" wins and "Kauno Žalgiris" loses at home to Gargždų "Banga", then the representatives of the Kaunas district will secure at least silver.

"Kauno Žalgiris" - Gargždų "Banga". On October 19, at 17:00. Kaunas, Dariaus and Girėnas stadium. Previous matches: 1:1, 0:3, 1:1.

The Kaunas team will face perhaps their most unfavorable opponent of the season.

"Kauno Žalgiris" can be relaxed – a minimum of bronze and participation in next season's international competitions is secured. They will know the result of the match in Širvintos before this game, but "Banga" is a sort of red rag for the home side, who will be eager for revenge. This season, they have yet to defeat Gargždai in "TOPsport A league", and they are the only team that has succeeded in doing so, while Davidas Afonso's side eliminated the Kaunas team from the cup semifinals. Due to suspension, defender Gratas Sirgėdas will miss the Saturday match.

The cup winners will also know the results of the two matches of the 33rd round, but with 40 points and standing in fourth position, they can feel quite calm. Even a single victory in the remaining four matches would bring them very close to a historic spot that they last managed to achieve in 2020. "Banga" seems to have tamed the Dariaus and Girėnas stadium, but they will have to do without their suspended attacking leader Valdas Paulauskas. The recent heavy loss to the Alytus club should awaken the Gargždai side, who play better away than at home.

FA "Šiauliai" - Marijampolės "Sūduva". On October 20, at 16:00. Šiauliai, Šiaulių municipality stadium. Previous matches: 0:0, 0:1, 0:0.

Šiauliai have yet to breach their opponents’ defense this season.

After two away losses this autumn, the situation for Mindaugas Čepas’s squad has become complicated, though a victory against "Panevėžys" improved their standing a bit. FA "Šiauliai”'s clear positive is their performance at the main city stadium – they have only lost to "Žalgiris" this year there. The difference between points earned at home versus away is the highest among all teams – 24 to 12. In Sunday’s match against a not-so-favorable opponent, they will be without suspended defender Karolis Žebrauskas.

The Marijampolė team is still at the bottom of the table in terms of lost points, although that situation could change before their own 33rd round match. "Sūduva" can celebrate a series of six consecutive matches without defeat, but away from home, excluding a technical win against Alytaus DFK "Dainava," they only managed to win on May 17. Their most pressing issue is the absence of a consistent goal-scorer, so if Nikolajus Solodovnikov or another attacking player steps up, the Sūduva side, having a favorable schedule, could rise in the league table.

Alytaus DFK "Dainava" - Vilniaus "Žalgiris". On October 20, at 18:25. Alytus, Alytus city stadium. Previous matches: 0:1, 0:4, 1:3.

The Sunday match from Alytus will be broadcast live on the LRT Plius channel.

Dainava's head coach Sergejus Kuznecov’s suspension will end after this match, and interim coach Aleksej Pankovec managed to pick up a crucial three points from Gargždai. The Dzukai, who have a complicated schedule, have collected 36 points ahead of the 33rd round and sit sixth, standing four points above the last place. "Dainava" benefits from the defeats of teams below them in the table; however, their current points tally does not guarantee tranquility. In any case, on Sunday, even a draw would be a great result.

"Žalgiris" will have a better understanding of their situation once the match in which "Hegelmann" faces off ends. A loss for the latter would provide the Vilnius side the chance to celebrate the championship title with a victory. In mutual encounters, the Žalgiris team has rarely drawn; since 2010, the Alytus team has only managed to snatch points on two occasions while playing away. In the last match in the "TOPsport A league," defender Younnas Zahary only played one half.